USAFA ORIGINAL CLASS PAINTINGS:
COLLECTION Information
Rick Broome Studios currently owns the largest single collection of USAFA artwork that has ever been done. This collection spans from 1987-2022. This is probably one of the most valuable, self owned collections in the world by a current artist.
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When the first USAFA Class Paintings were done in the early 1970's, the class actually commissioned the painting and paid for the Original which was then donated back to the Academy as their "Class Gift". This changed in 1979 when the project was changed from an Original Painting only to offering prints or reproductions to the Cadets. It was very restricted. However, this changed again in the mid 90's.
Donating any artwork by the artist is not very lucrative or smart. Artists are only allowed to "write off" the cost for materials and not the actual value of the work. In the early 2000's, we decided that it made more sense to keep the artwork in hopes we could find an outside sponsor that could actually benefit from the donation of the work. Many owners of Original Rick Broome artwork have donated their pieces to the Academy for substantial tax benefits. We started to put benchmarks in place in 2004 to make sure the artwork was preserved and held unless we reached that benchmark. Since 2004, no Original Class Painting has been donated by Rick Broome which has resulted in a substantially high valued collection.
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Currently, the Artist has a total of 19 Official Class Paintings and 6 Commemorative or Exemplar Class Paintings. This includes paintings commissioned by the class but not yet completed. That is a collection of 25 Official paintings created for individual classes that have graduated from the Academy or are due to graduate. This does not include the number of limited edition prints that are still in stock at the studio. Based on preliminary numbers, there are at least 10K prints from the classes that Rick Broome Productions created limited editions for.
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The overall value of the Originals and Prints is realistically in the 10's of millions of dollars. Just the Original paintings themselves carry a value well over $15 million based on what others have received for their donations of other Rick Broome artwork. Establishing the true value of the collection is something we are currently working on.
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The reason for this collection information is that we are currently searching for the right people, organizations, or business owner's that would benefit by purchasing the collection and donating it back to the Academy. The truth is, this is the greatest single collection of Academy artwork and it belongs up at the Academy. The value is one thing, but the history of the Academy can be found in each work of art that Rick has created. It truly immortalizes the classes that he created works for. That is something that will withstand the test of time.
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A look at the collection can be seen in the Photo gallery on this page. If you are interested in learning more about the collection and possibly interested in purchasing the collection as a whole or even partly, please feel free to reach out to us...Hopefully, someone else will find the value in this amazing collection and do what is needed to make sure future generations can visit and see the works in person...
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