Alan Fausel and LuLen Walker in the Healy building vault

Recently, through the courtesy of William Doyle Galleries and its chairman Kathleen M. Doyle in New York, University Art Curator LuLen Walker and Director of Doyle's Paintings Department Alan Fausel spent a day going through much of the University's art collection and Carroll Parlour treasures.

As a result of generous donations over the years, the University has accumulated an extensive collection of paintings. Some of the finer ones are displayed in the Carroll Parlour while others are on view in offices and public areas on all three campuses. A number of paintings are stored in the Healy Building vault.

Highlights of the collection which benefited from Mr. Fausel's expertise include David Teniers II's Saints Antony and Paul in a Cave, c. 1635; Jasper Francis Cropsey's Sunset over the Hudson River, c. 1865; Eastman Johnson's Hannah Amidst the Vines, c. 1860; Sanford Robinson Gifford's Alpine Waterfall, 1864; and Gilbert Stuart's Portrait of Archbishop John Carroll, c. 1804.

The picture held by Ms. Walker and Mr. Fausel in the accompanying photograph, initially thought to be an authentic Gabriel Metsu--a contemporary of Vermeer, unfortunately turned out to be a copy of Metsu's Lady Reading a Letter, owned by the National Gallery of Ireland. The original painting can be viewed in color on the Gallery's website at www.nationalgallery.ie/html/paintings.html

Many paintings in the collection still need to be evaluated. Eventually, after a thorough appraisal, it is hoped that some of the paintings not within the scope of the collection can be sold at auction in order to provide funds to strengthen the University's already impressive holdings in American art. Other goals for the collection include better storage facilities, preservation, and additional exhibit space to increase the collection's visibility.