Dan's Papers - November 16, 2007 - Art Group in Trouble

The Artists Alliance of the East End was formed in 1984 as the Jimmy Ernst Artists Alliance. It was formed by close friends of Jimmy Ernst, the internationally acclaimed abstract painter, to carry on his vision of an artists' community.

Perhaps best known for their highly publicized and well-organized studio tours, members also attend monthly meetings where impressive guest speakers discuss their craft. The founding members established the alliance on the egalitarian, democratic and idealistic values associated with Jimmy Ernst. The values of the Alliance are the cornerstone upon which the artists of the Hamptons have staked their claim.

Presently, to be a member of the Alliance, one need only be an artist with a residence on the East End and a have desire to communicate with other artists. The yearly dues are $45. With a membership of approximately 400, that provides the alliance with $18,000 in revenue used for space rental for monthly meetings, newsletters, an accountant and guest speakers. For those wanting to participate in the studio tours, an additional $80 is required upfront along with 15% of sales, but not all members choose to participate in the studio tours. Additional funds needed to run and promote the organization come from grants or donations, and must be raised by the president and the board.

But now, a rift has developed within the Alliance that will either bring it back to its roots or will destroy the original premise upon which it was founded. At its core is the president, Tom Steele, who during his tenure of the last three years changed the bylaws without permission of the board.

Also, for the first time in the Alliance's history, Steele used Alliance money to rent an office in East Hampton. Board members objected to this. If they didn't agree with him, they were required to resign.

"Approximately ten board members have resigned since 2003," said former Alliance President Diana Plitt.

Another problem is that the organization has been acting without an independent treasurer, again a requirement of the bylaws. So Mr. Steele appointed himself treasurer. But with no independent treasurer there were now other problems. The bylaws specify that a monthly financial report must be presented. Not only weren't they presented, but the regular monthly meetings where they might have been presented were discontinued.

"One of the problems is we can't get a membership list although one has been compiled, and the membership is entitled to the list according to the bylaws. The list has not been made public since 2004 despite numerous requests," said Ms. Plitt.

Finally, on September 30, 2007, at the yearly membership meeting a final accounting was presented. The results were startling. Firstly, a member of the Alliance performed the audit rather than an independent accountant. Secondly, the organization was in deficit for the first time in its history. The meeting revealed further that neither the organization's taxes nor the corporation's 990 tax-exempt status had been filed in a timely manner. Regarding this matter, Mr. Steele said, "Most non-profits are late in filing."

There were other examples of a lack of the organization's democratic processes. Mr. Steele unilaterally ordered a last minute cancellation of a performance that was scheduled.

"Mr. Steele had booked it," said board member Carol Saxe. "At the last minute he decided her piece was too controversial. But of the 13 board members, 7 agreed they did not want to cancel last minute." She continued, "He cancelled it anyway. After this incident, I invited some members to attend the next meeting, but I was told that only Mr. Steele had the authority to allow a member to attend the next board meeting, a rule they said was passed but is not in the bylaws."

There were still more problems. Mr. Steele twice changed the bylaws to give himself greater executive privilege, without ratification by the membership. Copies of the ballots in which the bylaws in May and October 2003, October 2004 and December 2006 were changed limiting membership control were requested. Although promised, they were never presented. Ms. Saxe said, "They don't exist."

Last week, the four hundred some odd members received a ballot for the election of a new board and president. However, the ballot they received had only one slate. Ten members submitted their names for a separate slate, accompanied by all the necessary documentation, but all were found unacceptable by the nominating committee. One of the organizers of the second slate, Roz Diamond, said, "Some were disqualified because they had not paid their dues. But this was because the office was lax in sending out dues notices. Thus, many members were unaware that they were not in good standing. That of course was used against the nominees. They did not know their dues were overdue."

Among the rejected was a founding member of the organization, who asked that his name not be used, said, "Founding members have always had lifetime honorary memberships. But because we never voted to change that bylaw, we were caught unaware that it was. It turned out that my dues, which I am now required to pay, were suddenly in arrears. That is why I was disqualified from running on an alternative slate." He continued, "What kind of election has only one slate to vote on?"

On a Friday afternoon prior to the election, at the invitation of the President of the East End Artists' Alliance, Mr. Steele, a meeting took place in the Alliance's office in East Hampton, next door to Nick & Toni's Restaurant, where Mr. Steele agreed to respond to the numerous accusations against him. His partner in business and in life Ms. Dooley, although at the office at the time, declined to comment.

"We chose," said Mr. Steele, "not to distribute the membership list to insure people's privacy." When asked to comment on why he chose to personally fill the treasurer's position despite a strict ruling in the bylaws that states that the treasurer cannot be a board member, Mr. Steele responded, "We could not find a good accountant."

He continued, "It is true I objected to a professional audit because of the cost. Our accountants said it would run from $3,000 to $5,000 a year. And as for the requests for information, we're looking into the legality of people's requests. We're thinking of getting a volunteer lawyer for the arts."

In a telephone interview from his home, board member Jim Gemake, one of Steele's appointees, summed up the conflict this way, "I don't deny that the complaints are legitimate. It's not the same organization it was 40 years ago."

The election with only one slate took place two weeks ago. As a result, Mr. Steele was re-elected as Third Vice President, and his hand picked slate filled the rest of the offices. Mr. Steele will continue to sit on the board of the Artists Alliance of the East End, for the next year.