The Fine Art of Education: Scripps Collectors’ Circle

 Collectors’ Circle members discuss the artworks they plan to vote for as they dine by candlelight.

Since its founding in 1936, Scripps College has collected art for teaching purposes in and outside of the classroom. All of the College’s artworks have been gifts to Scripps from generous donors who understand the value of using original art to deeply enrich the education of our students. However, the College has never had an art acquisition fund, and no tuition monies have ever been spent on art. While understandable, this practice has unfortunately left incomplete areas in the collections, hindering their function as a complement to our curriculum.

With a view toward enriching the collections, last spring, the Scripps Collectors’ Circle (SCC) was launched. At the first yearly meeting, members were treated to a private tour of the exhibition in the gallery, the prestigious Clay’s Tectonic Shift: John Mason, Ken Price, Peter Voulkos, 1956-1968, named one of the top ten exhibitions of 2012 by Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight. High tea was served as students presented artworks to be considered for inclusion into the Scripps collection. Later, after a drinks party, Circle members enjoyed an elegant dinner, and between courses, they voted for the acquisition of their favorite works to be added to the collection.

In total, eighteen works were acquired for the collection and funding was approved toward the restoration of the Shakespeare bas-reliefs in the Sycamore Courtyard.

In just a short time, the second annual Scripps Collectors’ Circle will meet. Fascinating artworks await, as well as an exciting new schedule of events, culminating in the vote during a candlelit dinner in one of Scripps’s most glittering venues.

For more information on joining the Scripps Collectors’ Circle, please contact Jennifer Anderson at (909) 607-4690.

 

Scripps Collectors’ Circle

Charter Members 2012

Ann and James Ach

Susan Allen

Chitra and Ashok Amritraj

Francine and William Baker

Marylou Boone

Nick Boone

Susanne Boone

Laurie and Bart Brown

Dana and Kirk Delman

Sharon and Bruce Dewberry

Michael Dewberry

Patricia and Anthony Ghosn

Danielle and Eric Haskell

Diana Ho

Joan Isaacs

Nancy Hart Glanville Jewel

Joanne and Dennis Keith

Barbara Klein

Mary and Sperry MacNaughton

Susan and Brent Maire

Suzanne and Paul Muchnic

Wendy Munger

Mary and Weston Naef

Beth Nolan

Peggy Phelps

Nathalie and Stephen Rachlin

John Regan

Marilyn and Judd Roberts

Steven Roth

Carol and Douglas Rush

Diane and Igal Silber

Louis Stern

Clare and Chris Tayback

Linda Davis Taylor and Jim Taylor

Carol Vernon and Robert Turbin

Carolyn and Robert Wagner

Emily Waldorf

Marilyn and Ben Weber

Mary and Fritz Weis

Michael Whalen

Victoria and Norman Williamson

The Broad Foundation

 

Scripps Collectors’ Circle

Works Acquired 2012

Photographs:

Berenice Abbott: Murray Hill Hotel: Spiral,c. 1935

Julia Blackmon: Concert, c. 2010 

Herman Leonard

Billy Holiday, NYC, c. 1949

Dexter Gordon, Royal Roost, NYC, c. 1948

Ella Fitzgerald with
Duke Ellington & Benny Goodman, c. 1948

Mixed Media:

Joan Irving Brandt: Looking down Goldenrod Street, c. 1964

Ceramics:

Angela de Mott

Nebulae Vessel, 2011

Arita Kilns

Sake Bottles, c. 19th Century

Harrison McIntosh

Bowl, 1988

Vase, 1985

Steven Portigal

Five-Part Harmony, 2005

Paintings:

Susan Hertel, (1930-1993)

Cat on Table, c. 1955

Millard Sheets

Trees (near gypsy camp), c. 1926

Skiffs at the Dock, c. 1927

Etchings:

Mary Nimmo Moran

East Hampton, c. 1888

Thomas Moran

The Resounding Sea, c. 1886

The Rapids above Niagara, c. 1886

James McNeill Whistler

Hurlingham, c. 1879

Conservation Project:

John Gregory (1879-1958), Mid-summer Night’s Dream, Bas-Relief

Sycamore Court, Scripps Campus 


Image: James McNeill Whistler, Hurlingham, c. 1879, etching, Scripps College, Claremont, CA, Purchase, Scripps Collectors’ Circle

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