Hartwick college

The Fine Arts Collection at Hartwick College dates from the 1950s, when John Kenneth and Dorothy Byard of Connecticut donated 60 prints and oil paintings. The collection was then expanded in 1960 when the College received a major gift of 116 works from the estate of Louis van Ess. Van Ess was the rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Oneonta from 1940-60 and also taught history at Hartwick College on a part-time basis. In 1971, the College received an additional contribution of paintings from Arthur M. Merritt, a New York City art collector and dentist. Since that time other works have been donated to the collection and, on occasion, Hartwick College also has purchased images. Most recently, Dr. and Mrs. James and Karen Elting of Oneonta, NY donated a major work by the contemporary artist Robert Rauschenberg.

*Recent acquisition - Untitled, Carl Plansky, oil on canvas, n.d.