Regents ponder restoration of paintings

Jacob Tucker, feature editor

The restoration of the college’s art collection was among the main topics of discussion at the September meeting of the South Plains College Board of Regents.

For almost 40 years, the college has had nine unique paintings scatted across its campus. 

“These paintings were given to the college from the personal collection of Majorie Merriweather Post,” said Stephen John, vice president for Institutional Advancement.

Post had a vast collection of paintings that are now on display at the Smithsonian Institute, the Hillwood Estate in Virginia and at SPC.  The dates of the nine paintings that are on display at SPC range from a 17^th century pastel drawing to a 20^th century oil canvas piece.

Post donated these pieces to the college from 1966 through 1968.  She wanted the convenience of a classical art gallery at the college.  Post desired to give the South Plains region access to classical art.  Other than for student and faculty use, the gallery is completely open to the community.

The college started out with 14 pieces from her collection, including a piece from the artwork of Peter Paul Reubens.  Five of the original pieces were on loan from the Smithsonian Museum of Art, and were collected shortly after Post’s death.The Board began to watch the condition of the paintings during a period of 18 months.  They noticed the deterioration of the quality of color in the paintings, the condition of the collection and its need the attention also were brought to light in the February 23,2004 issue of The Plainsman Press.

“Many people have raised concerns to us about the damage of the paintings due to the elements of West Texas,” says John.

The Board has been presented the option to have these paintings restored to their original quality.  Helen Parkin, who is an accomplished art preservationist, has been recommended to the college.

She has had more than 30 years of experience in the field of art restoration.  Her list of employment includes work at the Kimball Museum of Art in Fort Worth, the Princeton Art Gallery at Princeton University and several other art museums around the nation.

“With her experience, I have the up-most confidence that she will do a great job,” said John.

She is slated to be on campus September 19 and 20.  Parkin’s job will be to evaluate the condition of the paintings and give information on what the college should do toward the efforts of preserving these works of art.  With that information in hand the college will be able to get the works a monetary appraisal.

The last appraisal of the paintings was done in 1973, when the value of the entire collection estimated to be of $43,000.

 “This would be a very good investment to possibly one of the college’s greatest assets,” said John.

The paintings may also be brought back together at a later date, according to John. 

The Fine Arts building is the next building on campus that is due for some serious renovating.  There has been talk of including a climate-controlled gallery for the paintings.

“We need a place to store these paintings, where they are in a controlled environment,” said John. 

The location for a gallery has not been determined.  John said an annex cannot be added onto the existing building because it would begin to encroach on surrounding buildings.

“A 1,500-square-foot facility is needed to house these paintings,” said John.  “The spaces that are available are too important to block.”

In other action, the Board discussed the slight decline in fall enrollment, new department lows and the approval of the college’s new Institutional Plan for 2005-2008.  The plan outlines the goals and vision for the college in the years to come.