University Museum copes with SIUE's largest art collection |
Anthony Watt |
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SIUE will soon own a vast assortment of fossils, carvings, odds, ends and knickknacks. The items are the art collection of Milton Harrington, an art collector who died in December. Although the entire collection is kept in the University Museum, only a small portion of its pieces belong to the university. The rest is still owned by Harrington's estate but will also be donated to the university once the paperwork is finished. Harrington began to store his collection at SIUE around 1990. "He was just looking for a good home for his children. The objects were, in a sense, his children," said Eric Barnett, director of the museum. Harrington was as varied as the things he spent his life gathering. He was the first person to receive a degree in paleontology from Washington University in 1928. A businessman as well as a scientist, he worked at several different jobs in the business community. He made his money printing greeting cards nationwide, but running a business did not keep him from traveling around the world and collecting things as he went. Harrington bought most of his items from fellow collectors and art dealers during his travels. The objects fill half of the University Museum's 12,600-square-foot storage facility. "So far the objects he (Harrington) gave to us while he was alive equal about $1.2 million and that is only one-tenth of the collection," Barnett said. "How many pieces are in the collection? I don't know. Probably 100,000." The Harrington collection includes items from South America, Central America, Greece, Egypt and the Mississippian culture of Cahokia Mounds fame. Barnett said the biggest problem he faces is taking care of the collection. This includes cataloging it, keeping items intact and keeping track of all of the collection. He is trying to decide exactly what to do with the seashells, coins, the complete skeleton of a cave bear and the massive quantities of other Harrington material stored at SIUE. Barnett said art students can use pieces in their classes or research on technique. "You see here," Barnett said, pointing to two similar bronze statues of a mounted American Indian, "the difference in the detail. This one is much more detailed. The other is a copy that didn't use the original mold." Barnett said at least four students are using Harrington artifacts in their classes. Senior Debra Jaime is using artifacts from the Caribbean in her art history class. "Right now I'm doing three cases where I'm going to display Harrington pieces," she said. "They are Taino artifacts. The Taino are the indigenous people of the Caribbean." She said her project is about the interaction of European explorers and the indigenous peoples. "I am Puerto Rican," she said. "I have Taino in my blood somewhere along the line." Barnett also said he would like to see the collection used at the university, but if there are objects that cannot be used, it would not be appropriate to keep them. Some could be sold and others loaned out to other museums. Since 1990, SIUE has displayed Harrington's items 16 times. Each exhibit had a different cultural theme or emphasis. Items are also on display in small amounts all over campus. | |