Boy Scouts of America auctions off Norman Rockwell paintings to compensate sex abuse survivors

Boy Scouts of America is aiming to compensate hundreds of former scouts who were sexually abused by selling its artwork collection, including historic paintings from Norman Rockwell.

The collection of more than 300 works has an estimated value of approximately $60 million, according to The Associated Press. 

Rockwell is known for his paintings featured in The Saturday Evening Post and illustrations of popular books like "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn." He maintained a 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America, publishing work for Scout Life, the organization's magazine.

“The idea that an iconic art collection that the Boy Scouts have assembled over many years is being liquidated in order to pay survivors recoveries and to bring them some measure of justice I think is very significant,” Barbara Houser, a retired bankruptcy judge who is overseeing the survivors’ settlement trust, told the AP.

The organization was founded in 1910. Four years ago, it filed for bankruptcy when more than 80,000 men submitted claims saying they were abused as children by troop leaders around the country. 

After a federal ruling, Boy Scouts of America entered a $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan that allowed the organization to continue operating while it compensated survivors. 

To date, thousands of survivors have received one-time payments of $3,500.

Heritage Auctions in Dallas is now overseeing the sale of Boy Scouts of America’s art with the first auction set for Friday afternoon. 

In addition to auctioning its expansive art collection, the organization also sold more than 30 council properties as of last month. 

“The reality is for most survivors, all this resolves is the bankruptcy, it doesn’t resolve their pain and it doesn’t resolve what was taken away from them,” Doug Kennedy, a survivor and co-chair of a committee representing victims, told the AP. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.