Penn art collection boasts variety, value

While most students are rushing hurriedly from class to class, few are aware that they are actually passing by some of the most valuable -and unique pieces of art in the world.

These works, which include sculptures, Rembrandt paintings and antique furniture, are part of the University's art collection, which consists of approximately 6,000 art objects housed in buildings throughout campus, including College Hall, Van Pelt Library and Eisenlohr Hall, the president's house.

The collection is "very, very varied [and] extremely eclectic -- from paintings to outdoor sculptures to very tiny watercolors" to large decorative objects such as chairs, clocks and tables, University Curator Jacqueline Jacovini said.

Since the University's founding, its art collection has steadily grown as a result of art commissions and purchases by, as well as donations to, Penn.

Though the value of the collection is not divulged to the public, Jacovini said the collection is "an aesthetic and historic and cultural asset more so than a [market] value asset."

"Being an historic institution, a lot of portraits were commissioned in the 1700s and 1800s of provosts and, subsequently, presidents ... and other noted dignitaries associated with the University," Jacovini said.

Penn also acquires artwork through "One Percent," part of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority Fine Arts Program. Through this program, the city contributes money for public art pieces.

Most of the artwork can be easily found throughout campus.

"One main emphasis of the collection is to integrate it into the daily experience of the University community, which is why you see it not only outdoors but in so many interior places," such as the Law School and Van Pelt Library, Jacovini said.

The University's art collection also borrows from and lends to notable institutions throughout the country.

"We also have a lending program so that occasionally some of our artwork goes to different venues such as" the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Jacovini said.

There "are several objects on campus that are actually long-term loans to the University," including the large statue of Ben Franklin, she added.

The sculpture, located directly in front of College Hall, is on loan to Penn from the city of Philadelphia for an indefinite amount of time.

Due to the age of many of the pieces and the lack of available record-keeping during the first couple of centuries of Penn's existence, Jacovini said that it is difficult to determine exactly when and where certain pieces in the collection were obtained.

"It is difficult to say because the Office of the Curator has only existed for little over 20 years, and records do not exist for a large amount of artwork that was acquired from the time the University began until probably the 1970s."

Maintenance and security remain the most important issues facing the University in its attempts to preserve its art collection.

"On a yearly basis, we review the artwork in terms of the security and condition. ... We are currently working on a system where, electronically, we will be able to monitor the remainder of the collection," Jacovini said.

For many, the art collection adds not only an artistic element to the campus, but also an important level of distinction and prominence.

"I think it's a real treat to be able to have in the main class[rooms] and administrative building portraits of University figures and scenes from University life in the past," Director of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library Michael Ryan said.

"I think they really enhance the [University] experience, and they serve to connect the president to the past. ... It truly is extraordinary," he added.

Others familiar with the campus agreed.

"We are glad to have works from this collection on display in some of our reading and work spaces here in the Fisher Fine Arts Library," Fine Arts Librarian William Keller said.

Though most paintings are found throughout campus, some of the most valuable and unique parts of the University art collection are found in the University president's house.

"The truly magnificent stuff is in Eisenlohr," Ryan said.

In addition to paintings and engravings, Eisenlohr is also home to antique furniture, including a clock designed and built by former University Provost David Rittenhouse in the 1700s.

Additionally, the house holds "an absolutely gorgeous painting of Ben Franklin ... that hangs in [the] dining room, [and] there are several historical pieces and ... many more modern pieces," including [an Edgar] Degas, said Sue Arcari of the President's Office of Special Projects.

Arcari noted that most of the artwork is displayed on the first floor of Eisenlohr, allowing visitors a look into some of the most diverse and rare artifacts at Penn.

"When there are functions, anyone that comes in ... can just stroll around, and if they like art, it's like being in a small gallery," she added. "All you have to do is look up."

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