The collection was begun in 1971 with a Title I Federal Grant which specified art for the college's newly completed A.C. Buehler Library. Mel George, then Director of the Library, who desired to have fine art on campus, previously purchased student or faculty work with money from library fines. He initiated the process whereby the Title I funds were spent on art.
The decision was made to buy Chicago art and specifically work of a newly flourishing but still affordable group of artists. Ted Halkin, who was chairperson of the Art Department at the time, selected ten pieces.
Between 1975-1991 thirty-three works of art were added to the collection through the Illinois Arts Council Partners in Purchase Program, a matching grant program available to colleges and universities. Mel Klatt, who succeeded Mel George as Director of the Library, wrote the yearly grants to the IAC.
Sandra Jorgensen, longtime Chairperson of the Art Department, Professor of Art and artist in her own right selected works that entered the collection both through the IAC program and through direct college purchases. The EU art collection, to a great extent, is an expression of her connoisseurship and vision. Focusing on artists working in Chicago between about 1950 and the present, the collection displays a broad range of artistic ideas and influences.
Over the years, the University has added many more works to the collection, and today it comprises more than 150 works of art, including many important works by major Imagists and Abstractionists. "There's rarely a retrospective of the so-called Imagist artists that doesn't include Elmhurst," said the art critic James Yood.
-Suellen Rocca, Curator, quote from current Art Collection brochure (undated)
As diverse and as individual as these artists are in their style and presentation, it is more than a coincidence that they have all flowered in the same city at the same time and with the same striking spirit and quality. The boundaries, the representatives, and the popular label "Imagists" are all inconclusive at this early stage, but the mastery of these artists, their healthy outlook, and their love of making art all point to their leadership in determining the face of late 20th Century American art.
-Sandra Jorgensen, first Curator, quote from first Art Collection brochure (undated)
Elmhurst University Art Collection on Youtube with Suellen Rocca and John McKinnon (EAM)
