Whitehouse, Schumer Probe GSA’s Management of Public Works and Fine Arts Collection

Trump administration mismanagement and DOGE layoffs threaten stewardship of about 26,000 historic works in GSA Fine Arts Collection<_u13a_p>

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sent a letter on Wednesday to General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Ed Forst regarding the potential mismanagement of the agency's Fine Arts Program and Collection.

The GSA Fine Arts Collection comprises 26,000 works dating from the 1850s to the present, including murals, sculptures, paintings, and architectural artworks that are integral to federal buildings across the country. The Environment and Public Works Committee has oversight jurisdiction over public buildings and works of the United States, including Federal buildings managed by GSA.

"Beyond its questionable legality and arbitrary nature, the placement of more than half of the Fine Arts division's staff on leave, pending termination, also raises critical questions about the continued stewardship of these artworks, many of which were commissioned with public funds and are held in trust for the American people," wrote the senators in the letter to the GSA Administrator. "Given the risks posed to these artworks in the absence of sufficient oversight, we request information and documents to help us better understand GSA's management of its treasured artwork collection."

Buildings like the Wilbur J. Cohen Building in Washington, D.C., contain irremovable murals depicting New Deal-era accomplishments told in scenes of daily life. Historian Gray Brechin has described the murals in the Cohen Building as "a kind of Sistine Chapel of the New Deal." GSA is in the process of selling the Cohen Building, and it is unclear how the agency plans to maintain the murals - which are chemically bonded to the walls and cannot be removed without significant cost and risk - and continue oversight of the works once ownership changes hands to private interests. As more federal buildings are placed for sale, multiple works from the Fine Arts Collection will be at risk of improper removal or loss.

In addition to the letter to GSA Administrator Forst, Whitehouse and Schumer wrote a letter to GSA Deputy Inspector General Robert Erickson requesting an audit of GSA's Fine Arts Program and its management of the Fine Arts Collection.

"Given the passage of time since the original audit and the current risks to federal art, we respectfully request that your office conduct an updated audit of GSA's Fine Arts Program, including updated recommendations on valuation and preservation of artworks in buildings slated for disposal by GSA. We believe it is vital to ensure that federally owned artworks are being managed lawfully, in accordance with your office's original recommendations, and in a manner that reflects the public trust," wrote the senators in the letter to the GSA Deputy Inspector General.

"The Fine Arts Collection belongs to the American people, and it is imperative that GSA upholds its duty to preserve and protect these works for future generations," added Senator Whitehouse and Leader Schumer in both letters.

A PDF of the letter to the General Services Administrator is available here. A PDF of the letter to the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General is available here.<_u13a_p>

<_u13a_p>