Lawmaker Eyes U. of Iowa’s Pollock Painting for Cash

An Iowa state legislator has reignited the debate about whether the University of Iowa should sell its most valuable piece of artwork, Jackson Pollock’s “Mural,” which was donated to the university in 1951 and is estimated to be worth $100-million to $140-million. According to the Press-Citizen of Iowa City, the lawmaker introduced a bill on Wednesday that would require the university to sell the painting and use the proceeds for undergraduate scholarships. In 2008 a suggestion by a member of the Board of Regents to consider selling the work to pay for flood damage to the university and its art museuem brought widespread criticism, and was ultimately dismissed. “Mural” now hangs in a museum in Davenport, Iowa, because the university’s art museum remains closed.