PRAIRIE PRINT MAKERS SPOTLIGHTED IN EXHIBITION
Les and Courtney Ruthven own one of the largest and finest collections of art from the late 19th and early 20th century in the state of Kansas.
But it's been 11 years since their Mid-America Fine Arts gallery in downtown Wichita has invited the public to an exhibit showing off some of those treasures.
On Saturday, the retired psychologists who have been collecting art for 30 years will rectify that. Their "Prairie Print Makers" exhibition will include about 200 of the 900 pieces in their collection.
The reason it's taken so long, Courtney Ruthven said, is that the two were busy with their business, called Preferred Mental Health Management.
"Now that business has moved on to our daughters," she said, "and we have the time to move on to something we love."
A passion for art is something the couple has always had in common — both grew up with artistic parents — and it's taken them all over the world in pursuit of pieces they love.
Much of their collection, including works they love the most, is from Kansas' best and most respected artists — Birger Sandzen, John Steuart Curry, Charles Capps, John Noble, C.A. Seward, Bruce Moore, to name a few.
"In the '30s and even before, there was a lot of art going on in Kansas," Les Ruthven said. "I don't think many people have an appreciation for the really high quality of work that the artists of that time produced."
Though art enthusiasts, the Ruthvens also are in the business of selling art, primarily to other gallery owners and art dealers. They expect some of those people to attend Saturday's exhibit — all of the art on display will be for sale — but they're just as interested in luring casual art observers and even newcomers.
"Every time you look at art, you learn something," Les said. "You learn to appreciate and understand it. You have to be exposed to it to appreciate it."
Brady Dreasher, whom the Ruthvens hired last year to curate their collection, said the exhibit is significant because it will include works by about 50 members of the Prairie Print Makers, which was organized by 11 Kansas artists in 1930 to promote appreciation of fine prints. More than 100 noted artists from around the world eventually joined the society.
Many of the works by those 50 members are prints, but also represented are oils, watercolors and drawings, Dreasher said.
"People will be able to see a piece of history, but also the diverse range of art that these artists produced," he said.
"We're going to get people who are just naturally curious about who the Prairie Print Makers were," he said. "They will want to see it because they've never seen so many examples in one place before."
Dreasher's challenge was to organize an exhibit that was comprehensive yet not overwhelming.
"I wanted to help people digest it easily, but also appreciate its scope," he said.
The Ruthvens say they hope it won't be another 11 years before their next exhibit; in fact, they'd like to begin showing the collection — and sharing their life's passion — on a regular basis.
"When we started, my husband and I didn't look for big names, we looked for good art," Courtney Ruthven said. "We looked for things that had artistic merit."
Les concurred.
"We made an emotional investment in art."
If you go>
prairie print makers
What: New exhibit of 200 works, including prints, paintings and drawings, from the late 19th century and early 20th century
Where: Mid-America Fine Arts gallery, 401 E. Douglas, third floor
When: Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Saturday. The exhibit will be up through July.
How much: Admission free. All art will be for sale.
For more information, call 316-613-9686.
This story was originally published June 16, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "PRAIRIE PRINT MAKERS SPOTLIGHTED IN EXHIBITION."