F
ew people can say that their grandfather’s portrait hangs in a university library.
Restored vision in the Engineering Library
Or their great-grandfather’s portrait. Or their great-greatgrandfather’s portrait. But third-generation Hawkeye Kay Higbee Coyne can say just that — her grandfather was Frederic Goodson Higbee, who served as head of what was then the Department of Engineering Drawing in the College of Engineering, and his portrait looms large in the Lichtenberger Engineering Library at the University of Iowa. Higbee was known for contributing significantly to the philosophy and technique of teaching engineering students by using engineering drawing as a basis and medium for developing young minds. His work included power station construction, building construction, railroad construction, and municipal engineering. Higbee is also recognized on the College of Engineering’s Legacy Wall as one of President Walter A. Jessup’s “Four Horsemen” who provided “critical advice and counsel to help the University of Iowa regain its position among Big Ten institutions earlier in the 20th century.’’
“I think the portrait had lost its vibrancy after more than 60 years,” said Coyne. “We are grateful that the university and the College of Engineering recognized the value of conserving and recognizing one of their early and gifted professors of engineering.” Coyne and her siblings partnered with the university libraries and college to help restore the portrait. Dating back to 1952, the portrait has been a fixture in the Lichtenberger Engineering Library and even moved when the Engineering Library was relocated during major building renovations from 1997-2001. Painted by Harold Brett, an American illustrator and painter known for his New England scenes and for his portraits, the portrait spent 11 months at the Conservation Center in Chicago for extensive restoration. Brett’s illustrations have been featured in Harper’s Weekly, Collier’s Weekly, and the Saturday Evening Post. Kay Coyne, Jennifer Coyne, and Jennifer’s daughter Megan visited campus in May 2019 to see the restored portrait. “My grandfather was devoted to the university, its engineering program, and Iowa City,” said Coyne. “It is truly wonderful to see him recognized in this way.
Coyne followed her grandfather and father, Frederic G. Higbee, Jr., who graduated in 1935 from the UI College of Commerce. Her mother, Dorothy Wicke Higbee, also attended Iowa. Coyne graduated from the University of Iowa in 1962 with an M.A. degree in journalism. With her husband, James F. Coyne, Kay Coyne routinely visited the portrait while their daughter, Jennifer Ann Coyne, the fourth Higbee generation, earned a B.S. degree in political science and economics before graduating in 1987.
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Iowa Engineer 2019