Opponents of Randolph College’s plans to sell four paintings won some breathing room on Thursday when a state judge in Virginia issued a temporary ruling that blocks the paintings’ sale while litigation against the college continues.

The college hopes to raise at least $32-million by selling the paintings at auction, and the first sale was scheduled to take place in less than two weeks. Judge J. Leyburn Mosby Jr., of the State Circuit Court at Lynchburg, said in his ruling that he believes that “the harm if the art is sold is greater than the harm if the art is not sold,” the Associated Press reported.

The ruling came in response to motions filed by a group of students, alumnae, art donors, and former employees seeking to stop the college from selling off valuable pieces from its extensive art collection, some of which was acquired with funds from a trust set up under a 1928 bequest, to shore up its endowment.

The college plans to appeal Judge Mosby’s ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court, a spokeswoman, Brenda Edson, said. That court has agreed to hear appeals in two cases, involving the institution’s decision last year to admit men and issues of donor intent.

In other litigation, the college has asked a court to declare that it has the authority to sell or share ownership of items that were purchased with funds from the 1928 bequest. None of the paintings that were to be sold this month were bought with those funds, college officials have said. —Charles Huckabee