Robert Swain Gifford Landscape

Robert Swain Gifford Landscape

This painting by Robert Swain Gifford, (American, 1840-1905), is in need of cleaning and possibly relining or re-stretching the canvas. The surface of the painting is irregular, and the color appears to have yellowed with time. Born on an island in Massachusetts, Gifford studied under the Dutch painter, Albertus van Beest, and later traveled extensively in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa before settling in New York, where he taught at the Cooper Union. He spent his summers in Massachusetts and is most well known for his stark New England landscapes and seascapes.

Leonard Everett Fisher Painting – ADOPTED!

Leonard Everett Fisher Painting – ADOPTED!

Leonard Everett Fisher was born in 1924 in the Bronx, New York, raised in Brooklyn, and is a longtime resident of Westport, Connecticut. Fisher served in WWII with the US Army Corps of Engineers from 1942 to 1946. Following the war, he graduated from Yale University’s School of Art with a BFA in 1949 and an MFA in 1950. His art can be seen in public collections nationwide. The year 2004 marks his 50th year in publishing during which he has illustrated some 260 books for young readers, 90 of which he authored.

Josef Albers Prints

Josef Albers Prints

The Union College Permanent Collection presently owns a copy of Josef Albers’ Formulation: Articulation. The 1972 set of two boxed portfolios of screenprinted “folders,” or double-page prints, presents selections from forty years of Albers’ work, placed in a sequential, rather than chronological, order so that the visual interaction between the prints is more apparent. A recent donation of six prints from another edition of these portfolios is in need of conservation so that they can be used for teaching and viewing, allowing the boxed portfolios to remain pristine and intact.

Arnold Bittleman Artworks

Arnold Bittleman Artworks

Arnold Bittleman was a member of the Union College faculty from 1966 to 1984 and founded the Studio Arts program. We were recently gifted two works by Bittleman to add to our collection of his work: an etching on paper of his familiar “thicket” and an abstract drawing in pen and ink. Formerly the possessions of a former colleague of Bittleman’s, the drawings are in need of conservation treatment to restore them for exhibition.

Bronze Collection

Bronze Collection

This collection of ancient bronze weaponry and horse fittings was originally acquired in the 1960s by Union College Professor Emeritus, Carl George and his wife, Gail George, in Tehran, Iran, and gifted to the Permanent Collection. Presumed to be from the famed Luristan region and dated to the Iranian Iron Age (1300- 650 BCE), many of the bronzes are representative of artifacts from this area and can be stylistically compared to excavated examples at notable institutions. There is a sequential method of treatment needed for the bronze artifacts, involving first testing for bronze disease, then following a protocol to render the corrosion inactive.

Michael Gallagher Painting

Michael Gallagher Painting

Michael Gallagher is a Californian artist (b. 1945) who received his MFA from Yale. His work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Jewish Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This large, expressive painting was donated in 1995 and is comprised of layers of paint and epoxy, as well as some airbrushing, in order to create a three-dimensional, brush stroke effect. It is in need of conservation to reframe and seal it properly, and also to replace the outer Plexiglas.

Olivier Models – ADOPTED!

Olivier Models – ADOPTED!

ADOPTED! We are now looking for funding for additional museum quality exhibition cases which would allow the models to be displayed on a regular basis in the library, as well as in Bailey Hall following the completion of the Science and Engineering complex renovation. Adopted by David Mixer (Class of 1974), William Perlstein (Class of 1971), David Strom (Class of 1976), Tony Versaci (Class of 1991), former President Stephen Ainlay’s Office, and through a Greater Hudson Heritage Network grant.