Recently, the Class Leadership for 2023 and the Academy unveiled their "Official" Class Painting and the Artist who won their "Call for Artist's" competition which was announced last year. All of this transpired after meeting with us the previous year. In their unveiling, they also released a statement about their painting and the details which we want to address. Namely due to some major misinformation about the project, the history, and the reasons they gave for their decision to go this direction.  The fact remains that the decision made by the Class of 2023 to "Break Tradition" has had a major impact on our business and livelihoods as well as our continuation to create the best artwork for the best people in the world. We have been devastated by their decision to "sell" the project and idea that we started 49 years ago. With that, we want to clarify some of the misinformation in their official statement to make sure that our collector base and those that support us know the truth. Although we have always had to fight for our right to continue this project for the past 23 years, we always understood that this outcome was possible, and that there were many factors pushing for this to be the standard. With that, below are the areas of concern we would like to address based on their marketing statement of the "Official 2023 Class Painting." The information below is directly from the release of the 2023 Class Painting. Breaking Tradition Class paintings have been a tradition at the Academy since the 1970s. However, this is the first time the cadet class has taken an active role in seeking and securing an artist. The new process allows the class to retain the piece’s copyright and set affordable prices on prints for parents and classmates interested in purchasing a copy of the painting. “This approach allows the class more autonomy in securing the kind of piece they want to reflect their unique Academy experience and it strengthens the Academy’s outreach mission by building bridges into the community outside our gates,” said Michael Peterson, Academy strategic communications outreach division chief.First and foremost, this tradition was created and made possible by an Artist, Richard "Rick" Broome, in 1974. He began this tradition with the belief that it was something meaningful and historical and like nothing else ever done in regards to creating a series of fine art paintings that were specific to each and every graduating class of the US Air Force Academy. Thus creating something unique to each class, but distinguishable as a whole. Something that graduates would instantly recognize, like the Class Ring. This is not the first time though that the class has taken an active role in seeking and securing "an artist." Competitions were held for almost  ALL of the years that Rick did not do the painting. The Class would vote on a "piece" and did so for the following years; 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994. In 1986, a cadet worked with the art department to create their painting which was a direct copy of Rick's sketch for the class. In 2001, the class leadership took a similar stance on their painting like 2023 and "Broke Tradition." From 2008-2011 and again in 2014, the class leadership was advised to go "Outside" the tradition to secure their artist. So, saying this was the first time is not accurate.  Secondly, stating that "This approach allows the class more autonomy in securing the kind of piece they want to reflect their unique Academy experience..." is blatantly wrong. Since the inception of the Class Painting in 1974, every painting that was created was done as a reflection of what the Class wanted. Every Class that Rick has created a painting for had 100% input and "autonomy" in the creation of their painting. It was the Artists style that made them consistent, but each painting was done based on What the Class wanted and How the Class wanted to reflect their "Academy Experience," Period! In fact, not only did Rick "work with the cadets," they had their actual hands in the painting. Meaning in almost Every Painting Created by Broome, members of the class painted on the original painting. Thus, making every painting done by Broome showcase not only his creative talents, but members of the graduating class as well. Images will be posted to follow showing members of several classes painting on the Original Painting as well as distinguished graduates like, Graduate and Astronaut Susan Helms, Gen. Pete Todd, and many others...To say this is "Breaking Tradition" is a farce. No offense to the work for hire artist that was chosen to create 2023's painting, but stating this; “I worked with the cadets to ensure the elements held a personal meaning to their common experience and time at the Academy.” is nothing short of a slap in the face. What's more personal than having someone Physically Paint on their Class Painting. That, is nothing new and something Broome made sure to do for Each and Every Single Painting he created for a graduating class. The decision made by the leadership of the Class of 2023 was not about autonomy, breaking tradition, or my favorite,"strengthens the Academy’s outreach mission by building bridges into the community outside our gates,”. These are just fancy marketing terms to justify a decision that is not well received by many. No, the decision was about ONE Thing, and one thing only. Money. The next few statements from the release will show why the Class of 2023 "Broke Tradition" and Sold the project we created in an Online Contest. Further proving the real motive behind the decision.Before delving into this, let's look at what is the most important aspect of any artist and what they create. Copyrights. Every artist in the world, regardless of genre, is afforded the most important part of their creation. Whether or not the artist is a painter, sculptor, novelist, or musician. Their most important element is their Copyright. An artist does not make money on their works without owning their Copyright or Reproduction Rights. When an artist sells their Copyright, they sell not only their work, but the ability to monetize on that work. Forever! Professional Artists rarely sell their Copyright unless they absolutely have to, or they are given more than they could imagine. That is why we protect our Rights as strongly as we do. We do not make a living or even exist without maintaining and protecting that God Given Right to create. Our Rights are more important than anything else. So, how does this apply to 2023's decision? Smart advice and motive. This is stated in the release and quoted here. "The new process allows the class to retain the piece’s copyright and set affordable prices on prints for parents and classmates interested in purchasing a copy of the painting."  This begs the question, "Why would they want the Copyright on something they didn't actually create?" The answer. To be able to monetize on it. So, how do you do that? The answer, a competition that secures the rights by offering a monetary award for winning the competition. What professional artist would do that? Not many. What kind of contract is it? A work for hire. Again, no offense to the artist that won their ploy to make money, by securing the copyright, but this was coerced and done so to look benign and like they were doing the Cadets and Parents a favor. The fact is, by owning the Copyright, the artist that created the "piece" lost the ability to sell his works on the open market. He lost the one thing more important than anything when it comes to artwork. He lost his rights and now, the Class of 2023 owns them and can monetize on someone else's work because that person gave it to them. This was absolutely purposeful and it was done because of the next statement from the release. "This piece of art was commissioned by the Class Cabinet with coordination and assistance from the Bemis School of Art based out of Colorado Springs and the ‘23 Spirit Committee. It’s a one-for-one piece that was commissioned by the Class of ‘23 for the Class of ‘23.""The process to get here was 2+ years in the making. It began with initial market research before partnering with the Bemis School of Arts and releasing an open call for artists."Within this statement is how the Class of 2023 decided to go about "Seeking and Securing" their Artist. It started in the Studio of Rick Broome. Although we are not 100% sure they had made their decision to go elsewhere, it was VERY apparent that when we met with the Class of 2023, they were not much interested in the body of work, or what we could create. No, they were interested in operating costs, pricing, materials, and overall value of the project. Although we were vague, wondering the direction they were going, especially the Class President, they were able to get enough information to make an informed decision to "Break Tradition" and seek out a way to do it themselves to monetize on the project. Hell, why wouldn't you. Why let an artist try to make a living when you can sell it to someone unknowing and take the money yourselves. How would you sell it though? Easy, say you can do it for less and give Cadets something "Fresh" and "New". Use a keyword that snows the masses into believing you are doing them a Favor. What's that word? Affordability. They said it here; "The new process allows the class to retain the piece’s copyright and set affordable prices on prints for parents and classmates interested in purchasing a copy of the painting."  Since they put it out there, let's take a close look at "affordability." Yes, our product can be expensive. We know that. However, we do not raise our prices outside of the term "affordability" without cause. Fact is, we have offered the reproductions we sell to the Cadets and Parents for Less than what is currently being offered but we give them a hell of a LOT more. Affordability...For the Class of 2022, we kept our initial offering available to the class for almost 2.5 years. What was that price? $122.00 for a Canvas 16x20 print. For a bit more, we would frame it and we offered many upgrades to personalize it. All said, the average cost of a Broome reproduction since 1979 has be around $95.00 unframed. The more upgrades one got, the higher the price, but those prices RARELY exceeded $350.00. Even up through graduation. The cost of a Framed 16x20 Canvas Edition with personalizations in March/April of 2022 was...Under $318.00. Please tell me how a Canvas edition that is framed with personalizations for $318.00 is not affordable. Better yet, take the smaller option for 2023 into a frame shop and find out what the cost will be. I guarantee, it will be near $300 total. “It was critical to all involved that Mr. Weed created a piece of art that was fresh and enjoyable to cadets and non-cadets alike,” said Cadet 1st Class Usama Bamieh, Cadet Class of 2023 president, “We understand that the cadet experience is only made possible by a community of support. We wanted to make sure we included them in the process.”