George Washington University and National Gallery of Art to Take over Corcoran Gallery of Art

The Washington Post reports that D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Okun has approved the proposal of the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art to transfer its college to George Washington University and the bulk of its art collection to the National Gallery of Art.  The Corcoran Gallery is reported to be the oldest private art museum in the nation’s capital.  The proposal was the focus of a cy pres proceeding, necessitated because of the severe financial difficulties facing the nonprofit.

As discussed in Judge Okun’s opinion granting the trustee’s petition, the trustees of the Corcoran Gallery argued that continuing its operations as a stand-alone charity was impossible or impracticable.  Borrowing from contracts law, the court agreed that the continued operation of the gallery by itself was “impracticable.” Of special interest is the Court’s interpretation of “impracticability” under the doctrine of cy pres:

The Court’s review of the cases discussed above leads to the conclusion that a party fails to establish impracticability in the cy pres context if it merely demonstrates that it would be inconvenient or difficult for the party to carry out the current terms and conditions of the trust. Rather, a party seeking cy pres relief can establish impracticability only if it demonstrates that it would be unreasonably difficult, and that it is not viable or feasible, to carry out the current terms and conditions of the trust.

For those interested in a brief history of major events surrounding the formation and operation of the Corcoran Gallery, see A Corcoran Gallery of Art Timeline, also published in the Washington Post.

JRB