Currently the artwork is kept on a nondescript floor in the university’s library. Paintings, sculptures and folk art are neatly hanging or standing in a warehouse type setting, including a 15th century limestone relief of the tabernacle of the crucifix donated by Chicago sculpture Milton Horn.
“He is the artist that did the pylons at the med school,” said Robert Bridges, curator of WVU’s art collection. “He was hired by the university in 1958 to do those marble pylons and remained somewhat connected to the university and decided this would be a good place for his collection.”
The collection also includes a piece by contemporary artist Chuck Close and numerous pieces by West Virginia artist, Blanche Lazelle. WVU has the largest public collection of Lazelle’s work.
Joyce Ice is director of WVU’s new art museum. Plans are underway to build a $10 million climate-controlled building near the university’s Creative Arts Center (CAC).
“That will house the exhibit galleries and storage for the collection as well as print study rooms and space for people to come and work in that collection, doing research as well as preparing objects for exhibit or to be loaned to other museums,” said Ice.
The new museum will connect to the former alumni building, which is being renovated for museum offices, a bookstore and a café.
Current drawings show glass and steel on the building’s façade. The sides of building will be covered with rock. A sculpture garden is also planned.
Ice hopes the location, near the CAC and the WVU Coliseum, will attract visitors who come to Morgantown for concerts, plays and sporting events.
“The trend in museums these days is to be more accessible to allow people to encounter art and see it as part of the quality of life on campus and in our community,” Ice said. “Art is not something that is only for certain segments of the community or the population. That creative spirit that it speaks to is present in everyone.”
If you think you might have something that belongs in the WVU art museum, Bridges is always willing to take a look. He says the university has received lots of donated artwork over the years, but sometimes people are just curious about what they own.
“I’m kind of a one person antiques road show sometimes,” Bridges said. “People will pull up in the front of the CAC, and I come out and look in the trunk of their car to see what they have. I offer that as a service as well as a way to keep myself informed of what objects exist in the state. It’s not always just paint by number paintings either. I’ve seen some really nice things that people have in their collections.”
The Smith Group of Detroit is designing the museum now. Ice says it should open in about two years.