The proposed sale of three paintings—Mountain Landscape (c. 1849) by Frederic Edwin Church, The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate (1914) by Childe Hassam, and Rust Red Hills (1930) by Georgia O'Keeffe—sparked fierce opposition, including protests from faculty and students, and from Richard H. W. Brauer, founder and director of the university's Brauer Museum of Art where the paintings were exhibited.
[1] To cut costs, the university shut down its law school in 2020 and no longer offers degrees in secondary education and French.
[5] Brauer and Philipp Brockington filed suit in Indiana state court against the university, arguing that the proposed sale violated the original Sloan trust agreement, which requires revenue from paintings that are sold to be put back into the Sloan purchase fund.
[6] The university also argued that they needed to sell the painting to address their deficit and student decline, and that a dormitory renovation would increase enrollment.
Todd Rokita, the Indiana attorney general, reviewed the case and supported the position taken by Valparaiso.