other institutions. A program from the first exhibition, which showcased selected works from the 1926 Winter Exhibition of the National Academy of Design on loan from the American Federation of Arts, offered pieces for sale. The most expensive piece was the original painting, “Maple Sugar” by Horatio Walker, a Canadian painter who worked in oils and watercolors, recreating scenes of rural Canadian life. According to a program, “Maple Sugar” was listed for $3,000, which would be worth more than $50,000 today. When Howland died in 1950, Francis J. Quirk was hired as an associate professor and head of the fine arts department, which included directing Lehigh’s galleries and exhibitions and curating its permanent collection, according to Navaroli’s history. Quirk created the first records of the university’s collection, negotiated additional art acquisitions and developed long-term collections and exhibition policies for the galleries. IN 1974, RICARDO VIERA STEPPED INTO THE ROLE, SERVING AS LUAG’S DIRECTOR FOR 44 YEARS. Under Viera, the collection grew from 2,500 objects to more than 15,000, including a nationally recognized collection of Latin American works. “The ’70s were important because that’s when Ricardo came on board as director and really shifted the tone within the organization toward a kind of professionalization of museum practice,” Wonsidler says. “The number of galleries on campus expanded, and LUAG began to think of itself as a museum instead of just a campus art gallery.” Viera connected Lehigh’s exhibition and gallery program to the American Association of Museums—today known as the American Alliance of Museums—which is the accrediting body for museums. The gallery is currently pursuing museum accreditation under the alliance. Accreditation makes an organization more competitive for grants, can lead to partnership and lending opportunities with other museums and enhances both the museum and university’s standing with stakeholders and the community. As a Cuban immigrant, Viera wanted to expand LUAG’s collection to be inclusive of Latin American culture. Viera arrived in the United States in the early 1960s at the age of 17 through “Operation Peter Pan,” which transported unaccompanied Cuban minors to resettle in the United States, given the perceived threat of the growth of communism. He focused on artworks that were accessible for a small university with a limited acquisition budget, Wonsidler says. They included photographs, works on paper and videography. A TURNING POINT 24 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN Ricardo Viera Mark Wonsidler, curator of exhibitions and collections at LUAG, holds a framed archival digital print of “The Heretic (Texcoco, Estado de México, Mexico)” by photographer Pedro Meyer. DOUGLAS BENEDICT
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