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NORTH ATTLEBORO -Whether to keep or sell the town's Russian masterpiece should hinge on the wishes of the donor family, according to several residents polled on Thursday.

Most residents queried said the town should keep the Alexandre Iacovleff "Afghans" painting - especially since relatives of W. Charles Thompson, who donated the artwork to the town in 1951, don't want to see it sold.

Marcel Parmentier said the wishes of the family, not financial considerations, should be the key point of discussion when deciding the fate of the painting.

"What does the person who donated it want to do? That's your answer right there," he said. "I think the town is getting greedy. Why should his donation have to compensate for poor management of revenue?"

Nancy Appleton agreed, saying the town should hang onto its unique painting. "Well, I think they should keep it. It's a good thing for the town to have," she said.

Another resident, George Steinbacher, said the decision is a tough one. As an artist himself, Steinbacher said he likes the idea of putting money into a trust fund to support fine arts and music programs for the town's school children.

However, he also sees the value of keeping the town's historic artifacts accessible.

"I think the town should keep it. It's a part of the town, and someone did a good thing by donating it," Steinbacher said. "Once it's gone, it's gone for good. There are too many things from the past being lost."

"If the town could keep it and loan it to a museum, that might be a good idea," he added.

Mary Ellen Bell said she is glad the decision doesn't rest in her hands. Whatever the fate of the painting, she likes the idea of the town receiving a replica of it.

"I really like the idea of having a reproduction made. If the town keeps the painting, it's going to have to be in a secure location, so the public isn't really going to have access to it," Bell said.

Another resident, Darius Hajduk, said he is concerned about how the money from the sale of the painting would be used.

"If they sell it, I don't think they will use the money right, so I think they should keep it," he said.