Permanent Collection

Expanding the Possibilities for Reflection and Enjoyment

The University of Saint Francis continues to be blessed by many alumni, friends, and supporters in the artistic community. Several of those artists and supporters have shown their affection for Saint Francis by donating a variety of works of art for the edification of students and the Saint Francis community. 

Recent Donations to the Permanent Collection

Holly Roberts, a New Mexico mixed-media artist, donated 14 of her works to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mimi and Ian Rolland 
Art and Visual Communication Center.

Shown: “Young Woman Watching,” a mixed-media photograph collage on panel.

Michael Poorman, a Fort Wayne artist, donated over a dozen works by local and national artists from his collection.

Shown: “Untitled,” by Noel Dusendschon (1927-1991), a mixed-media collage/drawing on board. 

Frank Liljegren, a New York illustrator and studio artist, gifted his entire artist estate to the university. This estate donation also includes works by his wife, Donna Liljegren, who was one of the first female animators in the 1950s.

Shown: “Vanity,” oil on canvas.

Dale Lewis, a sculptor from Hastings, Minnesota, donated a 10-foot sculpture to the university’s outdoor sculpture garden, which is part of the Fort Wayne River Greenway Trail.

Shown: Saguaro in Bloom, repurposed cell phone tower clips. 

Betty Fishman (MA ’71), a longtime Fort Wayne artist and arts advocate, gifted dozens of works from her estate to the collection. During her exhibition at the USF Lupke Gallery, several works were available for sale benefitting USF student scholarships.

Shown: “The Garden,” by Norman Bradley (1935-2016), oil on canvas.


Rare Books Collection

Saint Francis alumna Patricia Griest (MA ’71) and her late husband Walter D. Griest, M.D., donated more than 300 books from their four-decade collection. The donations include books published by the Limited Editions Club and its predecessor, the Heritage Club. They are limited press books using archival papers, letterpress, and fine embellished bindings. The texts include a variety of subjects: visual art, poetry, classic literature, history, and politics. 

The collection also includes books with bound prints that illustrate the narratives of the texts by numerous historic artists, including Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Ryman, Sean Scully, Jacob Lawrence, Leonard Baskin, Francesco Clemente, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Elizabeth Catlett. One of the most notable books, “Genesis,” by Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) from Limited Editions Club (published in 1989), is letterpress and bound, including eight silkscreens by Lawrence.

“Books are the voices of the ages, recreating in minds today the thoughts and dreams of minds long departed,” Patricia Griest said.