M A I E R M U S E U M O F A R TM M A ACatalogofPresidentialPortraitsat RandolphCollege
William Waugh Smith founded R MWC in 1891 and was president from its opening in 1893 until his death in 1912. Before assuming the presidency, he had many other responsibilities in the Randolph Macon system, of which he was founder and chancellor; this group of Virginia schools included R-MWC. He was president of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland and founded the System's two academies for boys, in Bedford and Front Royal, and one for girls, in Danville. During this time, he felt that women of the South and especially women of Virginia would benefit from greater intellectual emancipation; he eventually opened a college to meet that need.
Randolph Macon Woman's College stands as a monument to Smith's indomitable will and untiring energy. He withstood many hardships and frustrations to shepherd the school into existence and through its first decade, making enormous personal sacrifices, such as donating his home in Richmond, worth $5,000, to begin the funding process. Smith also generously allowed every Lynchburg woman to attend R MWC during his tenure without paying tuition, in appreciation of the community's positive response to his appeals for financial support.
William Merritt Chase 1849-1916
Influenced chiefly by his Munich teachers, early in his career William Merritt Chase tended towards the use of heavy impasto and rich colors. The impact of the French Impressionists, however, caused him to adopt a more subtle palette and quieter, more intimate technique. A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Chase studied art at the National Academy of Design in New York, as well as in Munich, Germany, and in Venice, Italy. A noted teacher to generations of American artists, Chase taught at the Art Students League in New York from 1878 to 1894 and then at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia from 1898 to 1911. During this time he also ran his own art schools, the Chase School in New York (1896 1908), and summer classes at Shinnecock, on Long Island (1891 1902). Chase has such a variety in subject matter it is difficult to place him in a single genre. Famous for character studies and portraits in the first part of his career, Chase increasingly turned to landscape subjects and is especially well known for his Long Island canvases.
Portrait of President William Waugh Smith 1907 oil on canvas Gift of the Class of 1907, 1907
Gift of Mrs. Addison White (Carolyn C. Webb '25), 1968
William Alexander Webb (1867-1919), the second president of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, served from 1913 until his death in 1919. Born to a prominent Tennessee family, Webb was educated at the prestigious Webb School, a preparatory institution founded by his uncles W. R. and J. M. Webb. Dr. Webb graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt and continued his studies abroad at the Universities of Leipzig and Berlin. He came to R-MWC from the position of president at Central College in Missouri.
Portrait of Dr. William A. Webb, President 1968 oil on canvas
Dr. Webb oversaw many lasting advances at the College. In 1917, a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was installed, and the College was recognized by the Association of American Universities. The significance of these two achievements was such that, in a tribute to Dr. Webb, he was remembered as “untiring in his efforts to secure high and valuable recognition of the scholarship and standing of the College in the educational world, efforts he had the satisfaction of seeing in large measure crowned with success.”
Dr. Webb hired the first full time librarian and set up a campus post office system. He began a Bureau of Appointments to find employment for graduates, and opened an Alumnae Office with a paid secretary. The College appointed its first female associate professors, and Dr. Webb affirmed “the policy of the College would be not to discriminate against women in regard to salary.” The annual Founder’s Day celebration was inaugurated, and the student newspaper, the Sun Dial, was launched during his tenure.
Virginia native Harriet Fitzgerald ’26 was born in Danville. She went on to success as a painter, teacher, and mentor to many young artists. A lifelong supporter of R-MWC and its students, Fitzgerald was instrumental in establishing the Fine Art Series on campus. Dr. Webb’s daughter, who graduated from R-MWC in 1925, commissioned Fitzgerald to paint this posthumous portrait from a photograph of her late father.
Harriet Fitzgerald 1904-1984
Dice Robins Anderson is the only president of Randolph-Macon Woman's College of whom no official portrait was painted. During his tenure, which lasted from 1920 to 1931, the College added many new buildings, including the Smith Memorial Student Building, what is now the Winfree Observatory, Webb Hall and the Terrell Infirmary.
Dice Robins Anderson 1880-1942
Portrait of Dean Nathan A. Pattillo 1931 oil on canvas
Gift of the Classes of 1930 and 1931 through the Alumnae Association, 1931
Ipsen, the son of Danish parents, was born in Maiden, Massachusetts and graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1887. He traveled to Copenhagen to attend the Danish Academy of Fine Arts. After his return, he worked first in Boston and then New York. Ipsen achieved great success as a portraitist, painting notables that included the 21st President of the United States Chester A. Arthur, who took office after the assassination of President Garfield.
Ernest Ludvig Ipsen 1869-1951
The composition of Pattillo’s portrait echoes that of first president William Waugh Smith, by William Merritt Chase, a copy of which is on display on the fourth floor of the library. The portraits are so similar it would seem to be more than coincidence. In both, the men are seated, dressed in academic gown, with their hands in nearly identical positions. However, the artists vary in the way they handle the medium. Ipsen, unlike Chase, uses a very cold color palette and relies on color to create shape. The face and hands have a sculptural quality as if he were carving out the face with color.
Nathan Allan Pattillo was three time acting president of the College, as well as serving as Dean for 24 years and professor of mathematics for 32 years. He was well-loved by students and staff. During his tenure as president he established the Dean’s List as well as the Dean of Students Office. Patillo is credited as a defining constituent in the creation of the tradition of high academic standards at Randolph Macon Woman’s College, now Randolph College.
Dr. Jack retired after 19 years of service. He was the College’s first President emeritus and remained in Lynchburg until his death in 1964. Dr. Jack is remembered for his humanity, humor, and self-effacing manner. When a student apologized for taking up his time, Dr. Jack replied, “I am never too busy for anyone, for the human touch means more than anything else.”
Eugene E. Speicher 1883-1962
Portrait of Dr. Theodore H. Jack 1946 oil on canvas Gift of the Alumnae Association, 1947
Dr. Jack led the College through most of the Great Depression and all of the Second World War. Despite these monumental challenges, Dr. Jack’s tenure saw the completion of major construction projects, academic expansion, and a 50 percent increase in College assets. Main Hall was renovated, the Psychology department was enlarged, and the number of books in the library nearly doubled. The Martin Science building and Terrell Memorial Infirmary were built. On Dr. Jack’s recommendation, the departments of Greek and Philosophy were created, and he endorsed the founding of the College’s Nursery School. Mary’s Garden was created, and the Riding Center was established. Dr. Jack also helped bring the National Gallery’s emergency storage facility to the College campus. This building, constructed to protect the nation’s art collection in the event of a nuclear war, would later become the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College.
Eugene Speicher, a gifted artist who studied with Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase, was one of the top portrait painters of his time. Although no longer accepting commissions when he was approached, Speicher agreed to paint the portrait after becoming acquainted with Dr. Jack. The artist voiced his desire “to paint a portrait that we both can be proud of.”
Theodore Henley Jack (1881 1964) was the fourth president of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, serving from 1933 until 1952. The grandson of an Alabama state senator, he was educated at the University of Alabama, Harvard, and the University of Chicago. Dr. Jack was Professor of History at Emory University, where he later served as dean of the School of Liberal Arts and of the Graduate School. He left the position of vice president at Emory to accept the R-MWC presidency.
Dr. William F. Quillian, Jr. (1913 2014) was the fifth president of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, serving from 1952 to 1978. His 26 year tenure made him the College’s longest serving president. Dr. Quillian held degrees from Emory and Yale and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He was Professor of Philosophy at Ohio Wesleyan University prior to accepting the R MWC presidency.
Gift of the Class of 1954, other alumnae and friends, 1972
Philip Pearlstein born 1924
The campus underwent a great deal of construction during the Quillian years. The Physical Education and Recreation Building was constructed, and Bell Hall and Cheatham Dining Hall were opened. The Dana Wing of Lipscomb Library was completed, as were Houston Chapel and the Leggett Building.
After earning his B.F.A., Philip Pearlstein received a degree in art history from New York University. Pearlstein’s work is characterized by a distortion of scale, an emphasis on light and shadow, and a realistic, unsentimental depiction of his subject.
Portrait of William F. Quillian, Jr. 1971 oil on canvas
Dr. Quillian retired in 1978, but maintained a connection to the College for the rest of his life. To acknowledge this service, the College conferred upon him an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, and the Alumnae Association presented the College with a bronze bust of his likeness.
Dr. Quillian’s tenure was a time of great social change. The campus was desegregated in 1963, and the College community’s response was by-and-large positive. Students raised scholarship money to attract African-American
women to enroll, and Dr. Quillian worked to improve conditions for the African-American employees at the College. In 1969 the first African-American students graduated from R-MWC. Students participated in protests against the war in Vietnam, and increased awareness of the Women’s Movement led to the abandonment of May Day, a beauty/popularity contest held since 1909. College policies also changed; in 1964 Lynchburg’s ban against drinking alcohol was lifted, and in 1970 alcohol was allowed on campus. The requirement to sign in and out when leaving campus also ended.
James Aponovich born 1948
Portrait of President Robert Spivey 1989 oil on linen
Purchased by the Board of Trustees and the Class of 1954, 1989
In Dr. Spivey’s view, the emphasis on writing for students in all fields of study and the exceptional art collection were two of the most important facets of the College. The College Art Gallery was renovated during 1981-82 and renamed the Maier Museum of Art in recognition of an endowment established in 1983 by the Sarah and Pauline Maier Scholarship Foundation. During Dr. Spivey’s administration, R MWC graduated the largest class in the College’s history. Reflecting the changing composition of the student body, the Harriet Hudson Scholarship was established for non-traditional age students, and a minority task force was set up to improve support of African-American students.
Following his R-MWC presidency, Dr. Spivey served as the College’s chancellor from 1987-88. The author of numerous scholarly books on religion, he has served as executive director of the American Academy of Religion and as the ombudsman at Florida State University in Tallahassee.
James Aponovich earned his degree in studio art at the University of New Hampshire in 1971. He is best known for the sleek, meticulous, and minimalist style evident in this portrait, which conveys not only Dr. Spivey’s role as president, but also presents details that speak of him as an individual.
Robert Atwood Spivey (b. 1931) was the sixth president of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, serving from 1978 until 1987. A native of Suffolk, Virginia, he first visited his future wife, Martha Crocker ’54, at the College more than 20 years before he would become its president. Dr. Spivey was educated at Duke (Phi Beta Kappa) and Yale, as well as at Cambridge University and at the University of Goettingen in Germany. In addition to being a Fulbright Scholar, he received degrees from a number of universities including Columbia and Stanford. Dr. Spivey taught at Yale, Williams College, and Florida State University, where he helped found the Department of Religion. After serving as chair of that department for seven years, he was made provost and then dean of FSU’s College of Arts & Sciences, until assuming leadership of R-MWC.
Janet Fish earned her B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Yale University in 1963. Born into a creative family, the artist has enjoyed success since her first solo exhibition in 1971. Fish has been called a master of the contemporary still life, noted for her meticulously detailed, sparkling, and monumental canvases.
Janet Fish born 1938
Purchased in honor of Linda Koch Lorimer, 7th president of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, by alumnae, friends and the Maier Museum of Art (Mary S. Schreyer Acquisition Fund in memory of George Sumter Schreyer), 1996
Portrait of Linda Koch Lorimer 1994 oil on canvas
A native of Virginia, Linda Koch Lorimer (b. 1952) served as the seventh president of Randolph Macon Woman’s College (1987 1993). The first female president (and the youngest), she was educated at Hollins University and Yale Law School. Lorimer practiced law in New York City and then held a number of administrative positions at Yale, including that of Associate Provost.
During Lorimer’s tenure the College saw its centennial anniversary and nearly doubled its endowment. Academic expansions included the addition of a Woman’s Studies minor and the Ethyl Science and Mathematics Center. A new American Culture Program enabled students to experience firsthand the diversity of this country. To improve opportunities for study abroad, exchange programs with two Japanese colleges were created. Centers were developed for Career Development, Writing, and Learning Resources. In addition, the library catalogue was computerized. Lorimer subsequently returned to Yale as Vice President and Secretary of the university. She has received Argentina’s Order of Merit for advancing international education, the Yale Medal for Conspicuous Service, and other honors, including several honorarydegrees.
Joseph Santore born 1945
Shapard '57, and Betty Nichols Street '66, a bequest of Mary Frances Williams, R-MWC professor of art emerita, and funds provided by the Members of the Maier Museum of Art, 2008
Joseph Santore, who earned his M.F.A at Yale, was a visiting artist at R MWC in 1996-97 and one of the artists considered for the Lorimer portrait. Known for large-scale narratives with interior settings, he shifted to figurative works in the latter part of the 20th century. Like Pearlstein, Santore plays with perspective, creating context that extends beyond conventional portraiture.
Kathleen Gill Bowman (b. 1942) was the eighth president of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, serving from 1994 until 2006. Dr. Bowman was educated at the University of Minnesota and came to the College from the University of Oregon where she served as provost of international affairs and associate vice president for research.
Purchase made possible by former trustees and friends led by Frances Jones
Campus diversity and globalization were the hallmarks of the Bowman years. She created the President’s Award for Globalization, honoring students’ efforts to increase worldwide interaction. The Quillian Visiting International Professorship program began, bringing professors from other countries to campus. In 1998 Dr. Bowman established the Pearl S. Buck Award to recognize women committed to cross cultural understanding and human rights. Under her leadership, the College received a National Association of Foreign Student Advisors Award for campus internationalization. A graduate program in Education was added, and the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College’s online collection catalogue was created. In addition, the College gained its first mascot, Wanda the Wildcat.
Dr. Bowman served as president of the Council of Independent Colleges of Virginia. She received the National Council on Community and Justice’s Humanitarian Award and the University of Minnesota’s Distinguished Alumni Award. She is also the author of the “New Women” book series for children, profiling the achievements of women.
Portrait of President Kathleen Gill Bowman 2008 oil on canvas
Giles '65, Alice Hilseweck Ball '61, Katherine Stark Caldwell '74, Susan Braselton Fant '84, Virginia Muller
John E. Klein (b. 1945) was the College’s ninth president, serving from 2007 until 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Michigan Law School, Klein practiced law and completed a long career as the CEO of Bunge North America, Inc. before becoming Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration at Washington University in St. Louis. Klein became president of Randolph in 2007 just as the College, after 116 years as a single-sex institution, became a co ed institution and changed its name.
The early years of coeducation were marked by protests and lawsuits from unhappy alumnae and students, a warning from the College’s accrediting body, and a global financial meltdown. Under Klein’s leadership, Randolph overcame these issues, established a sound financial footing, and made important strides in improving financial management and planning, increasing enrollment, re-engaging alumnae, enhancing the academic program, and creating remarkable athletic team success.
R MWC traditions were maintained, and the College celebrated the centennial of its annual art exhibition. The first issue of Randolph magazine was published, and the College added its first Homecoming and initiated class banners. Klein’s tenure brought transformative change to the campus. Physical improvements included a remarkable Student Center renovation; Michels Plaza and brick walkways on back campus; a new athletic stadium and tennis courts; major renovations to Lipscomb Library, Caldwell Commons, and Main Hall lobby and corridors; renovation and air conditioning of Bell and Wright Halls; and the purchase of an apartment building across Rivermont Avenue.
Purchase made possible by trustees Katharine Stark Caldwell ’74, Lucy Williams Hooper ’73, Elizabeth Earle Kojaian ’84, Gail Waller ’71 and Susan Braselton Fant ’84, and by the Estate of Bethea Scott Owen in memory of her sister Helen Owen Calvert ’93, 2013
Richard Estes born 1932
Portrait of President John E. Klein 2013 oil on canvas
Born in Illinois, Richard Estes is well known for his style of photo-realism. Whether his subject is the urban or the natural landscape or a portrait, he renders it with detail and technical precision. His work is in such museums as the National Gallery of Art, the Whitney Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, his alma mater. Richard Estes visited the campus in October 2012, intending to stay for two days but spending eight days due to Hurricane Sandy.
Earlie Hudnall born 1946
Purchase made possible by current, former, and emeriti trustees and alumni led by June Rowan Bishop ’48, Elizabeth Grimm ’71, Allison Muller ’71, and Anne Wilkes Tucker ’67, and the Gignilliat Acquisition Fund, 2022
Portrait of President Bradley W. Bateman 2022 archival pigment print on paper
