Arts Alive San Antonio

BY PHIL HOUSEAL, Contributor

Art sequestered is not art appreciated.

That realization led a team of Schreiner University staff members to create a special art and artifact exhibit “100 Years of Schreiner University Treasures,” now running from November 4 to December 16, 2023, at the Museum of Western Art (MOWA) in Kerrville.

The seeds for this unique collaboration between university and museum were planted in 2021 during planning for the private school’s centennial celebration.

“Debbie Wegmann, Executive Assistant to the President, brought it to our attention that there was a lot of art on campus and in the library, and wouldn’t it be great to do some exhibits,” said Lisa McCormick, Library Director. “So, we went out and updated and added to an inventory that had been begun previously on campus.

The project might have remained a campus inventory, if not for then-Marketing & Communications Manager, Toby Appleton, who knew Darrell Beauchamp, Executive Director of MOWA. Beauchamp saw this as a perfect opportunity for the two prominent Kerrville institutions to collaborate on a community project.

“We were talking about ways to celebrate Schreiner’s 100th anniversary, as well as our museum’s 40th anniversary,” Beauchamp recalled. “The university has a collection that includes a Rembrandt and no place to display these treasures, and we have the perfect place. So that made it a good time to put some of their materials in our museum as a way to honor the art works and be good neighbors.”

Once the project was embraced, the work–and the fun–began.

The challenge of curating fell to Sarah Sides, a recent Schreiner University graduate who came on as Library Manager, Special Collections Coordinator. She had actually been involved in the process back in 2018 while she was still a student.

“I fell in love with the collection. So obviously, I was very excited but terrified!” she admitted. “The motivation was twofold: One, to get an inventory of the past historic artifacts, and two, inviting the public in to experience it.”

And what gems they uncovered!

The “star” of the show might be an etching by Rembrandt, deserving of its own wall. The centuries-old work also symbolizes the challenge and purpose of this show. In the main room with the Rembrandt, the exhibit displays other “Schreiner University Treasures.” Many are internationally-known, yet have a relationship with Texas, the Hill Country, or Schreiner.

These include paintings by recognized artists Porfirio Salinas, Julian Onderdonk, and Wayman Adams.

Adams, the international portrait artist who spent his final years in Austin, is represented with several works, from university officials to his well-known portrait of Wallis Warfield Simpson.

The exhibit includes an early oil of Hill Country bluebonnets by Porfirio Salinas, a Mexican-American artist said to be a favorite of President Lyndon B. Johnson. There is also a piece by Julian Onderdonk, often called “the father of Texas painting.”

The back of the Main Gallery is dominated by a 16-foot floor-to-ceiling quilted tapestry created by Hill Country artist and author Becky Patterson, entitled “Psalm 8.” It has hung for years in the university library.

Other treasures in the Main Gallery include Chaveyo’s Giant Kachina; collections of pottery and masks, and leaves from the Book of Hours, an illuminated manuscript from c. 1512. Those are from a collection by Ron and Jane Woellhof, long-time antiques dealers and supporters, having mounted exhibits at Schreiner University over the years.

“One of the things I like about the individual leaves are that the handwritten ones are always unique—meaning that there is not another leaf exactly like it in the world,” Ron Woellhof said. “When the leaves are studied, you will see the fine penwork detail involved in producing each leaf. I felt this would be great repository for the collection.”

There were so many works uncovered –more than 100– that the exhibit takes up three rooms in the Museum of Western Art. A second room is themed “Treasured Past, Treasured Future.”

The centerpiece here is a portrait of a young Captain Schreiner looking toward the future, a collaborative painting led by artist Vickie Hays that was just completed during the Centennial Celebration, with help from students and community members. Perhaps more fascinating are the random collections of personal artifacts, photos, and writings from former students and faculty. Sides particularly loves these glimpses into the normal lives of long-ago students.

“There are so many secrets,” said Sides, pointing out display cases from two past students. “My favorite is Courtney Sieker. I was going through the archives and I found this folder with all these portraits of cadets. Well, what is this about? Then I looked up her oral history. Apparently, she only dated Schreiner Institute students. And these were portraits that they gave her and some of them had little love sentiments written on them. That’s so fascinating.”

Another case holds items belonging to student William Canfield.

“We found a box in the back of a cabinet and I pulled it out,” Sides said. “And this was all of his stuff he had at Schreiner Institute, including these little slips of paper where he had to request to leave campus and why he left. I want other people to get as much joy as I do from these nuggets.”

The theme of the third room is “Texas Treasures,” which consists of art and artifacts from the Texas Center. The first object you see entering this room is an early Browning machine gun. It is a non-firing version used to train soldiers. The room also holds a Randy Steffen lithograph Rodeo from the McWhiney Art Collection. An accompanying handwritten document says it was painted in Texas, printed in France, and used in Europe. A copy of the poster hangs at the ranch of President George W. Bush. There are also two cases of 60 arrowheads gathered across Texas in the early 1900s by educator C.M. Lester.

At any level, “100 Years of Schreiner University Treasures” is an ambitious and unprecedented project. But it was undertaken–and is being shared–with affection and passion.

“We have never curated anything at this level or size,” Sides said. “Just coordinating with all the different people to make things happen was a wonder.”

But it has been worth it. “This has been the most exciting thing for me is that I see these things that were in boxes are now on walls, beautifully lit,” Sides said. “I knew they were amazing, but didn’t realize just how amazing. Now it just looks spectacular.”

McCormick agrees.

“I just want people to see what a treasure Schreiner University is, and just also our passion for all the beautiful things that have been collected over the years,” McCormick noted. “And really we just want people to see what we have.”

Debbie Wegmann, the person who started it all, is excited, too. “When I started at Schreiner, one of my first responsibilities was handling the insurance for the university and trying to make sure everything was accounted for. It was then I realized that we’ve got art everywhere, and we don’t have it listed. When I connected with Lisa in the library, they made it happen. Now I’m excited that all our treasures are on display and everybody can enjoy them.”

Sides speaks for everyone on that same note:

“On a personal level, we want people to love all of our treasures as much as we do.”
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“100 Years of Schreiner University Treasures” is now running from November 4 to December 16, 2023, at the Museum of Western Art (MOWA), 1550 Bandera Hwy, Kerrville. Regular museum admission applies; members and children 8 and under also free; Kids 9-17 $5; adults $7.

For more info contact Sarah Sides at ssides@schreiner.edu.