Norwich Ethics Commission won't rule on painting contest complaints

The Ethics Commission has declined to rule on two complaints concerning the Slater Museum director’s handling of a painting contest earlier this year, saying it doesn’t have jurisdiction because she is not a city employee.

At issue is an Abraham Lincoln portrait painting contest financed by the city and handled by Slater Museum Director Vivian Zoe. Two artists involved in the competition filed complaints that Zoe violated the Norwich Code of Ethics, saying she changed the rules of the contest after the paintings were submitted, putting some artists at a disadvantage.

The contest originally had promised all submissions would be displayed in a public exhibition, would be for sale and would be evaluated by judges. But, Zoe explained later, construction at Norwich Free Academy, which is home to Slater, prevented the museum from hosting the exhibit, and there was no other venue large enough in the city to accommodate the 62 entries.

So Zoe, on her own, chose 29 of the 62 entries for display at a smaller venue in town.

In their complaint, artists Margery Chase, of New Britain, and Mary Susan Sabol, of Southington, criticized Zoe’s actions, saying the artists weren’t just vying for an $8,000 prize, but for the guarantee of having a painting displayed at Slater Museum, a well-regarded venue.

They also explained that the artists spent considerable time and money creating the paintings and transporting them to Norwich.   

When the complaints were filed, Zoe wrote a letter to the Ethics Commission saying she didn’t believe it had jurisdiction because she is not a city employee.  Norwich Free Academy is not part of the Norwich Public School system, so its faculty and staff, including Zoe, are not city employees.

In its written conclusion issued Aug. 22, the commission agreed. But it criticized Zoe’s handling of the situation, saying she knew how many artists had asked for information about the contest and the size of the portraits they were creating, so she should have realized the gallery couldn’t accommodate all the entries. And she should have let the artists know, the commission said.

The commission made two recommendations to the City Council and the city manager:

• That discretionary authority should not be given to non-employees without appropriate safeguards to ensure the city’s code of ethics is followed.
• That the city write letters of apology to the 33 artists whose paintings were not displayed.

“We cannot compensate them for their time, effort or lost opportunity, but the city can at least express regret for the errors and the outcome,” the commission wrote.