Donor Spotlight: Patricia LaPointe McFarland

LaPointe McFarland Patricia

A former adjunct history professor gives the gift of fine art to AMUM

WHEN PATRICIA LAPOINTE MCFARLAND thinks about her recent gift of four paintings to the Art Museum of the University of Memphis, she remembers the many art gallery visits she made alongside her late husband, Dr. L. Gordon LaPointe, during their winter trips across New England. by Casey Hilder

“My husband and I always took trips between Christmas and New Year’s, just to have a little bit of a breather between the holidays,” LaPointe McFarland said. “We were always on the lookout for little out-of-the-way art shops and galleries. That’s essentially how we acquired many of these paintings.”

The set of paintings donated by LaPointe McFarland includes a pair of landscapes by Royal Academy painters Alfred Bennett (British, 1861–1923) and Thomas Creswick (b. Sheffield, England, active Birmingham, London, 1811-1869), as well as a still life by Arthur Jones (American, b. 1928) and a rural landscape by Roswell Morse Shurtleff (American, 1838-1915).

“I am delighted to find a new home for these paintings,” LaPointe McFarland said. “They have great value and I think they will make a fine addition to the University of Memphis, either on display in the Art Museum or used as teaching examples. There are a lot of different ways that creative minds could come up with to utilize these paintings.”

Bennett was born in London, England, which served as inspiration for much of his artwork. He was known for his paintings, etchings and drawings of landmarks around his home and capital city. Four of his works were exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1861 and 1880. McFarland’s donated painting, an 1875 piece titled “Plowing on The Downs,” depicts the countryside of South Downs, West Falner, Sussex, England. The Creswick piece, titled “The Hay Gatherers,” was first shown at the Society of British Artists in London in 1827. A well-regarded landscape painter, Creswick was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1850.

“These are paintings that have an excellent provenance and the museum was able to come up with a few more excellent details that I was not aware of,” LaPointe McFarland said. “I’m making it as easy for the museum as possible and, in return, they’re making it easy for me.”

While LaPointe McFarland built a diverse collection of paintings from small towns like Hanover, N.H., and larger cities including New York and Chicago over the years, only a select few were chosen to present to the Collection Committee of the AMUM.

“We’re grateful to Mrs. LaPointe McFarland for offering these paintings to us and look forward to sharing them with our students and the public,” said Leslie Luebbers, director of the Art Museum of the University of Memphis.

The decision to donate these works of art to the UofM was an easy one for LaPointe McFarland, who received her BA and MA from the University of Memphis and worked as an adjunct professor with the Department of History in the 1970s and ’80s. Her daughter, Lynsey LaPointe Freeman, earned her BA from the UofM’s Department of Communication & Film and MA from the UofM Department of English in 2009.

“I’m so pleased that the University accepted this gift and I feel very good about where many of these pieces of art are headed,” she said. “It was a pleasure to work with them, and I have always been very proud of my association with the University of Memphis.”

If you would like to support the University of Memphis with a gift of artwork or other appreciated assets, please contact Wesley LaRue at wtlarue@memphis.edu or 901.678.3468.