It’s not unusual for universities to ask their alumni for donations, but the University of Virginia hit its graduates up for a loan – actually 75 of them.
The University of Virginia’s Art Museum turned 80 this year, and to celebrate the school asked its alumni if they’d like to show works from their own collections. Director Bruce Boucher says 55 UVA grads responded with art from around the world -- two works by Degas, sculptures by Henry Moore, Auguste Rodin and Louise Nevelson, ceremonial headdresses from West Africa, a Tang dynasty horse and rider from China and a drawing by Bob Dylan. Some alumni were so excited they insisted on lending more than what the university requested.
"One person I went to – I was interested in borrowing one painting and he suggested, ‘Well since you’re calling it Cavaliers Collect, what about a portrait of King Charles the First, who was the Cavalier King, so I thought, ‘Yes, that’s great,’ and it’s really become an image or icon for the whole exhibition."
It’s an eclectic show, but Boucher says the museum has found interesting themes and ways of bringing these diverse works together for an intriguing show that’s up through December 20th. He hopes some of the lenders will be inspired to become donors as the museum raises money for a new wing it hopes to build – nearly doubling its current space and providing new places to show more art.
