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Washington State University
College of Arts and Sciences Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

Exhibition studies students research presidential art collection

Painting, “Snow and Stubble,” Z. Vanessa Helder.In 1935, Washington State College President Ernest Holland wrote to Charles Duveneck, the brother of American figure and portrait painter Frank Duveneck, who created a portrait of Charles in 1890. Holland had acquired the portrait for his personal collection. “I am fortunate to have been able to purchase the pastel portrait of yourself; and I shall be grateful to have you tell me if you know of some paintings by your brother which I might obtain…at a reasonable price,” wrote Holland.

With such gently persuasive letters, Holland was able to acquire close to 100 artworks that eventually became a founding collection for » More …

Curating community and conversation

Sydney MurphyWSU senior Sidney Murphy, curator of a special six-week exhibit at WSU’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, sees art as a path to a more honest, open, and liberating future.

Standing in front of the four panels of Myriads, Only by Dark by Julie Mehretu, Murphy says of the Ethiopian-American artist, “Mehretu focuses a lot on topology, maps, the connections we have between places—that’s my interpretation. This idea of place is messy, of where we come from, really messy.” She tosses off a small laugh. “You can’t really follow one line.” » More …

Undergraduate curates exhibit for Black History Month

Sidney Murphy discussing work on display in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.Anthropology senior Sidney Murphy thinks it’s important that people of all ethnicities connect with art and that art can help us celebrate culture.

Murphy, who is also earning a minor in exhibition studies, selected works of four prominent black artists from the collections of Jordan Schnitzer and his family foundation for a special six-week “Social Space” exhibit at WSU’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.

“Black artists and ethnic artists are the lowest-represented at art museums — and especially black women,” Murphy said. The four featured artists–– » More …

‘Venn Pirouettes’ exhibition blends art and science

MIchael SchultheisWSU alumnus Michael Schultheis finds dynamic synergies between the languages of mathematics and art. He employs analytical formula within his luminous paintings and sculptures. His works bend mathematical precision into imperfect visions, creating room for metaphors and storytelling.

Raised on a rural family farm near the Snake River in southeast Washington, Schultheis was awarded a bachelor’s degree in honors economics » More …