North Attleboro 'Afghans' painting

Friday, February 9, 2007 8:31 PM EST

The fate of a Russian masterpiece that hung in the Community School auditorium for more than 50 years remains up in the air.

The 7-foot by 10-foot painting that depicts Afghan tribesmen at rest on a hillside was donated by Charles Thompson and his family, and was hung in what was then the high school and is now the Community Elementary School. The painting is the work of Alexandre Iacovleff, is called "Afghans" and was donated to the school department in 1951.

Thompson, the nephew of Robert Vose worked at the Vose Gallery in Boston and personally knew Iacovleff, who served as the director of the painting department at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from 1934 to 1937. Thompson oversaw the sale of the artist's paintings after his death in 1938.

The painting was removed from the Community School on Feb. 1 after Sotheby's auction house of New York appraised it at $600,000 to $800,000. . However, if the painting is sold, it could fetch much more money. One of Iacovleff's paintings recently sold at auction for $2 million.

Sotheby's has agreed to store and insure the painting until the town decides what to do with it.

School officials plan to talk with Gregory Smith, the grandson of Charles Thompson to determine the fate of the painting. If a decision is made to sell the artwork, both the school committee and selectmen would have to approve the idea.

Superintendent Richard Smith has suggested if the painting is sold, perhaps the town could use the money to purchase another painting for the school auditorium and create a scholarship program for North Attleboro High School seniors who plan to major in the arts.