Portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln among paintings donated by New York philanthropist

New York philanthropist Henry Ostberg spent decades collecting paintings, drawings and other works of art and has now donated a substantial portion of his collection to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The first public display of portions of the Ostberg collection will be March 2-11 in the Roberta A. Fiskum Gallery in the university's James R. Connor University Center. Featured will be a portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln -- portraying Abraham Lincoln's wife as a young woman -- painted by the famed 19th century portraitist Thomas Sully.

The 46 paintings, drawings and sketches of the Ostberg collection are valued at approximately $80,000 and constitute one of the largest and most varied gifts to UW-Whitewater, said Megan Matthews, advancement officer for the College of Arts and Communication.

Michael Flanagan, UW-Whitewater's Crossman Gallery director, said that the artwork from Ostberg's private collection will present special learning opportunities for UW-Whitewater students.

“These paintings and drawings come from the 1800s through the 1960s and they aren't all documented fully,” Flanagan said. “So our students will have the opportunity to research the artworks and the artists, catalog them and assess their condition.”

Chris Henige, chair of UW-Whitewater’s Art Department, said he hopes many of the Ostberg pieces will find a home in Andersen Library where they will be most accessible to students.

“We see this as a study collection for our students to use in their research projects,” he said.

For example, some of the drawings appear to be preliminary studies for murals, but no one at the school knows whether the murals were actually painted or where they might now be housed, Henige said.

The gift is the result of a long friendship between Ostberg and artist Karen Gunderson, a 1966 graduate of UW-Whitewater and a member of the college’s advisory board.

“She's a real devotee of the school and when she learned I was planning to distribute some of my paintings, she suggested I give them to the UW-Whitewater and I was happy to do so,” Ostberg said.

He said at one point he had some 600 pieces of art but has since given away or sold about 450 of them.

“It got to the point that, even though I loved them, I didn't have room to display them all and they were put into bins,” Ostberg said.  “Finally, I thought, there's something wrong with this. I'd rather see them someplace where others could enjoy them.”

An opening reception for the exhibit, which includes the portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln, will take place in the Fiskum Art Gallery from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, March 9.  The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.