Carol Vogel reports today that Randolph College has sold a George Bellows painting to the National Gallery for $25.5 million. I haven't bothered to check, but I'm sure the usual suspects are rending their garments. But as Vogel tells it, it sounds like a pretty good deal all around: "It is the first major American painting to enter the National Gallery’s collection. The acquisition is also the start of a partnership between Randolph and the museum. Curators will go to Randolph to lecture; students from the college will be invited to do internships at the museum; and it is possible, officials at the college said, that from time to time, Randolph will be able to borrow the painting."
Most importantly, the work stays in "the public trust." Or have we decided the British don't count as part of the public?