More than 6,000 objects from the permanent art collection of UMW Galleries can now be viewed online.
“Publishing the collection online allows our students, especially those studying art, art history and museum studies, an invaluable resource in their work,” said Assistant Curator and Exhibitions Coordinator Rachel Hutcheson. “Not only does this tool enrich the UMW community, but it is also an important resource for scholars, researchers and institutions seeking information about the artists and works in our collection.”
Gallery Specialist Rosemary Jesionowski began thinking about publishing the collection online three years ago. Jesionowski, also Associate Professor of Multiple Imaging, enlisted the help of student interns and recent UMW graduates. Hutcheson oversaw the work and will manage updates to the collection.
The University’s permanent collection spans a period of more than 50 years.
There was a great era of art acquisition under former MWC President Grellet Simpson. President Simpson, who served from 1956 to 1974, frequently traveled to New York to purchase art for the University’s collection. Through initial purchases by the Alumni association, as well as by students and faculty, the collection acquired works by Marc Chagall, Arshile Gorky, Milton Avery, John Twachtman and Tetsuo Ochikubo, among others. The majority of the collection, however, developed after the establishment of the Ridderhof Martin Gallery in 1992 with the generous donation by artist and philanthropist Phyllis Ridderhof Martin.
Today, the collection continues to grow. Each year an artwork by a student artist is purchased for the Galleries’ collection from the Annual Student Art Exhibition. In addition, a painting is acquired from the Galleries’ biannual Mid-Atlantic New Painting Exhibition, generously funded by the Alfred Levitt Endowment for the Arts.
The oldest piece in the University collection is a pedestal foot of a piece of Ban-Chiang pottery, dating to approximately 300 BCE – 200 CE. Some of the newest acquisitions include a portrait of Charles Goolrick (artist unknown), a photograph by student Kacie Waters-Heflin and a ceramic vessel by student Michael Evert.
UMW Gallery staff and interns are continually improving the images available by scanning works on paper in collaboration with the UMW Libraries Digital Archiving Lab.
To view the collection, visit http://umwgalleries.pastperfectonline.com/