renovation of the rooms to set up a dedicated, climate-controlled storage space for the uni- versity’s growing art collection.


Garrick also worked out a plan with the Wof- fords to transform the mezzanine of Byrnes Auditorium into gallery and reception space. Some of Nancy’s classically rendered charcoal studies are displayed there now.


Wrapped around the McIver art collection is a yearly art scholarship, which allows a student to help care for Winthrop’s artwork under guid- ance of the Winthrop Galleries. “We wanted to help facilitate the Winthrop Galleries’ manage- ment of its art, while at the same time create opportunities for art students to gain experi- ence in handling art professionally, exposing them to the business side of it,” Nancy said, “so that Juliet’s collection and others can re- main in caring hands for years to come.”


A Complement to Winthrop’s Wide-Ranging Collection Gentry said the addition of contemporary and abstract art greatly enhances the existing Win- throp collection. “There are many interesting public art creations and prized collected and donated pieces across the campus,” he noted. “As the collection grows, Winthrop students especially benefit from exposure to various artists and artistic styles.”


Gentry keeps track of Winthrop’s art inventory that contains more than 600 pieces, some of which are on display and others in storage.


The Winthrop Collection Some of Winthrop’s most valued works came from the estate of Clara Barrett Strait, one of the foremost portrait artists of the first half of the 20th century. The adopted daughter of Thomas Jefferson Strait and his wife, Kate, of


Lancaster, she studied at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., while her father was a congressman representing the Fifth Dis- trict. A prolific artist, she traveled around the eastern part of the country drawing dozens of politicians, judges, U.S. presidents, Confeder- ate generals and businessmen, among others.


Upon Strait’s passing in 1948, her estate went to the state of South Carolina, and the courts decided that her 34 portraits and landscapes would remain at Winthrop, where Strait had a studio.


Some of her portraits remain displayed around the campus today.


One of the first major donations to Winthrop was made in the 1940s from an Italian sculptor who lived in Rock Hill and owned Rock Hill Marble and Granite Works. Joseph G. Sassi and his wife gave the institution 19 paintings created by such Italian artists as Albani, Mo- roni, Ricciarelli and Gignoux, as well as four pieces of statuary. The works are safely stored in Rutledge Building.


Other notable contributions include a Joan of Arc equestrian piece and two fighting stags by Anna Hyatt Huntington, the notable early 20th century American sculptor whose numerous works are featured at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet. A Sue Shaw-donated replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the original which is found in the Louvre Museum in Paris, stands on the second floor of Tillman.


Perhaps the most unusual selections in the art collection are the 16 brass rubbings hanging on the third floor of Tillman Hall. Primarily asso- ciated with British culture, brass rubbings are a form of relief printing, created by placing paper over an engraved brass plaque and rubbing its


This piece is one of the 34 portraits and landscapes


painted by Clara Barrett Strait. Upon her passing it was decided that her works would remain at Winthrop.


Sue Shaw donated this replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the


original which is found in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The replica stands on the second floor of Tillman Hall.


“Place,” by artist Alex Olson, is one of the modern art pieces included in the Woffords’ donated collection.


6


7

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15