Unconditional Surrender inspires donation policy

To avoid a repeat of the nearly yearlong tug of war over the Unconditional Surrender donation, the City Commission is set today to approve a new donation policy for any object, work of art or piece of property.

The policy’s requirements appear to be written to directly address the issues debated during the Unconditional Surrender negotiations.

World War II veteran Jack Curran is purchasing the bayfront sculpture and donating it to the city, but he demanded it stay on the bayfront for at least 10 years.

The new policy will not allow any preconditions of acceptance, and the city will be able to place the donated item wherever it wishes.

Some city officials feared Unconditional Surrender’s similarity to a famous Life magazine photo would subject the city to a copyright-infringement lawsuit.

The new policy requires any donation must be free of any copyright-infringement issues.

The city came to terms with Unconditional Surrender’s seller and its donor two weeks ago. Because it was originally intended to be on temporary display, the sculpture had to be removed from the bayfront last week for maintenance that will protect it during its permanent placement on Sarasota Bay.

Contact Robin Roy at [email protected].