FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1,309 citizens petition the Ohio Attorney General to Enforce Libbey’s Will at the Toledo Museum of Art
On June 23, 2026, a Request for Review was submitted to the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section asking for review of donor intent, charitable trust administration, governance, stewardship of charitable assets, and public access issues involving the Toledo Museum of Art and the Libbey Endowments.
Submitted to: Ohio Attorney General – Charitable Law Section
Submitted by: Penny Gentieu, Founder and Curator, Artists of Toledo
Submission Date: June 23, 2026
Petition to Enforce Libbey’s Will and Protect Toledo’s Art with 1,309 signatures
Request for Review Regarding Compliance with the Libbey Trust and Public Charitable Obligations
Summary
This submission to the Ohio Attorney General’s office respectfully requests review of issues concerning donor intent, charitable trust administration, public access to charitable assets, fiduciary oversight, and governance practices relating to the Toledo Museum of Art and the Libbey Endowments.
Toledo Museum of Art is one of America’s great civic museums, thanks to the extraordinary gift of the Libbeys to the people of Toledo.
Throughout the museum’s 125-year history, its purpose, as created by the founders, has been fulfilled by honoring its collection for the people of Toledo—keeping art on view and the museum maintained and open, even during renovations.
The leadership completely changed during the pandemic. While the administration and its budget more than doubled, museum attendance substantially decreased. The museum’s financial growth became decoupled from public engagement and exhibition output – a disconnect between visitors and revenue. The post-pandemic recovery in museum attendance was significantly lower compared to other museums. By 2025, attendance had only reached one-third of its pre-pandemic levels.
Starting in 2025, without any public disclosure, the museum began to send out major collections on international touring exhibitions. The museum issued no press releases for these unprecedented tours, even though it had been customary in the past to keep the public informed during the few occasions when the museum had lent smaller curated collections.
Art was moved around the museum and some galleries were repurposed or began to close. By June 2026, the entire gallery floor of the main building was closed for renovations and repairs, despite the museum’s successful completion of major renovations and repairs in the past without closing the museum. Artwork has been sent to storage facilities across the country.
Major artwork has been sold. The collection, entrusted for the benefit of the people of Toledo, has increasingly been used to advance the strategic objectives of current leadership. Considering the outcomes so far since the pandemic, the new leadership’s “Transformation 2027” initiative does not seem to align with the intentions of the founders.
why this matters
• Edward Drummond Libbey established charitable trusts and endowments to support an art museum for the benefit of the people of Toledo.
• Major collection works, including paintings acquired with Libbey funds, were sold in 2022 and 2026.
• Proceeds from collection sales and Libbey-associated assets have been used to create a museum-controlled acquisitions endowment that now exceeds the value of the Libbey Endowment.
• Draw rates from the Libbey Endowment have increased substantially while the endowment’s value has declined.
• Public access to the collection has been significantly reduced through gallery closures and the closure of the museum’s entire gallery floor of the main building.
• Significant portions of the collection are participating in unprecedented international touring programs extending through at least 2027. The museum has provided no formal public disclosure regarding the scope, duration, destinations, or financial arrangements of these exhibitions.
• Questions exist regarding governance, fiduciary oversight, board independence, and potential conflicts arising from overlapping trust and museum board membership.
• A citizen petition, “Enforce Libbey’s Will and Protect Toledo’s Art,” has received 1,309 signatures.
Requesting Review
How much discretion should current leadership have to permanently alter charitable assets entrusted for a specific purpose by a donor whose intent was clear and whose endowment has created a treasured collection and is an important part of the cultural heritage of the people of Toledo? The museum’s leadership and governing boards have a fiduciary duty to care for the museum’s cultural treasures and honor the purposes for which they were given.
Additional supporting documentation has been assembled, including annual reports, Form 990 filings, financial analyses, exhibition records, public statements, governance records, collection records, timelines, press articles and related materials exceeding 100 pages. These materials are available electronically upon request. See also, artistsoftoledo.com for related essays.
Read and download the Request for Review 23-page pdf document here:
Request for Review regarding compliance with the Libbey Trust and Charitable Obligations
Why we filed it here:
Read the petition with the petitioners’ comments here:
About the petition here:
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