0.6 Chapter four: the turning tide, 1960-1982  (Page 9/14)

The increasing emphasis on acquisitions was reflected in changes in the lev­els of the board-restricted funds. Year-end balances of these funds, originated under then-president LeRoy Kimball in 1954 to help the board manage the Society's accumulated surpluses, are depicted in Figure 4.2.

Prior to Frederick Adams's tenure as board president, the three board-restricted funds were the accumulated surplus, the pension reserve, and the fund for special accessions. As mentioned previously, Adams had established a devel­opment fund and renamed the accumulated surplus (calling it, instead, the reserve for equipment, building replacement, and major repair) as part of the capital cam­paign to improve the Society's facilities. To pay for the renovation in 1966, the building reserve was totally depleted and the development fund was substan­tially reduced. After the renovation, Adams rebuilt the development fund with sur­pluses generated in the late 1960s. When Adams stepped down in 1970, the development fund stood at $302,000.

Under Goelet, the board spent down this reserve quickly, depleting it entirely in just three years. Rather surprisingly, however, the development fund was not spent down to finance deficits. Expenditures were cut in 1971 and 1972, and the Society posted relatively small deficits (approximately 3 percent of total expen­ditures) in 1971 and 1973.

Pressure to ensure that funds would be available to make important accessions can be seen in other ways as well. The Society began to entertain the possibility of selling some of its collections, particularly its European paintings. Originally re­ceived by the Society in 1867, many of these pictures were amassed by Thomas J. Bryan, one of America’s first serious collectors of European Art. Although some considered the collection important as a unique representation of early American tastes in European art, the Society maintained that the paintings did not fall within its mission. By selling the paintings, some of which were quite valuable, the Society hoped to further its capacity to purchase collections that were relevant to its mission and purposes.

The Society originally petitioned the Supreme Court of New York for cypres relief in the mid 1960s.