The rare and valuable selection of works is comprised of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings assembled by the Kakoses over the course of 40 years.
LATROBE, PA—Saint Vincent College is pleased to announce it has received the personal collection of philanthropists Michael and Aimee Rusinko Kakos. Featuring 88 pieces rarely seen by the public in decades, the collection is principally focused on the transformative years between the 1880s through the 1930s. Many of the pieces were completed by artists who worked alongside those whose names are synonymous with Impressionism and the modernist styles that immediately followed but have largely been omitted from art historical surveys.
Interested in artists who prized both beauty and innovation in their work, the Kakoses opted to gradually collect pieces that invited sustained looking and appreciation for their London home. The collection is supported by a $1 million endowment that underwrites future conservation and interpretation.
“We are deeply grateful to Aimee and Michael, who’ve chosen Saint Vincent as the permanent home of their impressive collection,” remarked Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B., Saint Vincent College President. “Artwork assembled on campus serves as both an educational resource and an inspiration for our students, faculty and staff. We are proud to be able to share these works with the public,”
The Rusinko Kakos Collection points to an intergenerational, transnational network of artists who built upon the learnings of Impressionism. Through a constellation of friendships, parent-child relationships, marriages, professional associations and academic connections, artists shared ideas, techniques and inspirations that supported the development of their work. While these individuals engaged the same themes, subjects and methods of working as their more famous counterparts, their names aren’t conjured within common imagination.
This fall, the Verostko Center for the Arts will mount a signature exhibition featuring the Rusinko Kakos Collection that links the luminaries of the movement with their under-recognized contemporaries. Impressionist Legacies: The Michael and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Collection will open in early September 2023. Details concerning the exhibition will be announced in early August.
Longtime philanthropists, the Kakoses’ generous support of early childhood literacy, access to the arts and major initiatives in higher education including scholarships and endowments at The Pennsylvania State University (State College), Manhattan College (Riverdale, NY), Niagara University (Lewiston, NY) and Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ) positively influence the lives of countless individuals. Dividing their time between Winter Park, FL, and Latrobe, the Kakoses have contributed to local arts and culture organizations for decades.
The bequest of their personal collection to Saint Vincent College engages a sustained interest in making art and education attainable. As a gift to the people of Southwest Pennsylvania, the debut of the Rusinko Kakos Collection fittingly coincides with the 250th anniversary of Westmoreland County. Their collection expands access to a pivotal period of European painting largely unavailable regionally for public view outside the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh until now.
Highlights include a portrait by Sir George Clausen (The Novel, 1879), two works by Victor Vignon (Haystacks and The Hamlet) and a Brittany village scene by Victor Charreton (Breton Lacemakers, 1922 – 1926). Among several examples by Post-Impressionist luminaries is a still life by Suzanne Valadon (Bouquet of Roses in a Shell, ca. 1919), a stunning portrait by Henri Lebasque of his daughter (Marthe Lebasque at Vézillon, 1912), two garden-based paintings by Maximillien Luce and four works by Georges d’Espagnat informed by Fauvist techniques. The collection boasts representative works by artists who helped introduce Impressionism to England including Arthur Hacker (A Quiet Cove, Girl Canoeing, 1900), Stanhope Forbes (High Water – Gweek, Cornwall, 1931) and Mark Fisher (Corner of the Orchard, Hatfield Heath, ca. 1920).
“While many opt to auction their collections, the Kakoses have instead generously offered these works to an academic institution, allowing them to educate and enrich new audiences,” said Andrew Julo, Director of the Verostko Center for the Arts and Curator of the Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections. “I am thrilled our visitors will soon be able to encounter rarely seen examples from this decisive period of painting. The impact of their gift will be felt for many years to come.”
This bequest dramatically expands Saint Vincent’s holdings of 19th and 20thcentury European art. Now housed within the Verostko Center for the Arts, selections from the Kakoses’ gift will be made available on a rotating basis for public enjoyment. The Rusinko Kakos Collection forms part of the Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections¾a holding of over 4,000 items, ranging from ancient to contemporary, intended to enliven academic programming and foster an appreciation for the arts.
About the Verostko Center for the Arts
Formally dedicated in November 2021, the Verostko Center for the Arts serves as an educative and inspirational hub for students, faculty, researchers and the surrounding community. Exhibiting work by contemporary artists and objects from the Saint Vincent permanent collections, the Center provides opportunities for its constituents to engage with diverse perspectives, cultures and ideas. In keeping with Saint Vincent College’s liberal arts mission, special focus is given to exhibitions and programming that draw from interdisciplinary sources. A 9,000+ square foot facility located inside the Dale P. Latimer Library, the Verostko Center features four distinct exhibition spaces, a video presentation area, reading room, staff offices and climate-controlled storage facilities for Saint Vincent’s art and rare book collections as well as the College’s archive.
The Center is proudly named for generative art pioneer Roman Verostko,C'55, S'59, H’21, an internationally-recognized artist and scholar whose affiliation with Saint Vincent can be traced back over 70 years.
Victor Charreton, French, 1864 – 1936, Breton Lacemakers (Les Dentellières Bretonnes), ca. 1922 – 1926, Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 28 5/8 inches, Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections, Gift of Michael and Aimee Rusinko, Photograph by Nathan J. Shaulis/Porter Loves
Sir George Clausen, British, 1852 – 1944, The Novel, 1879, Oil on canvas, 20 x 13 ¼ inches, Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections, Gift of Michael and Aimee Rusinko, Photograph by Nathan J. Shaulis/Porter Loves
Georges d’Espagnat, French, 1870 – 1950, Tea Time (L'Heure du Thé), Oil on canvas, 12 ½ x 16 inches, Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections, Gift of Michael and Aimee Rusinko, Photograph by Nathan J. Shaulis/Porter Loves
Mark William Fisher, American, active in England, 1841 – 1923, Corner of the Orchard, Hatfield Heath, ca. 1920, Oil on canvas, 14 ½ x 20 ½ inches, Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections, Gift of Michael and Aimee Rusinko, Photograph by Nathan J. Shaulis/Porter Loves
Arthur Hacker, British, 1858 – 1919, A Quiet Cove, Girl Canoeing, 1900, Oil on panel, 15 ¾ x 13 inches, Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections, Gift of Michael and Aimee Rusinko, Photograph by Nathan J. Shaulis/Porter Loves
Henri Baptiste Lebasque, French, 1865 – 1937, Marthe Lebasque at Vézillon, 1912, Oil on canvas, 32 ¼ x 17 ¾ inches, Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections, Gift of Michael and Aimee Rusinko, Photograph by Nathan J. Shaulis/Porter Loves
Suzanne Valadon, French, 1865 – 1938, Bouquet of Roses in a Shell (Bouquet de Roses dans un Obus), ca. 1919, Oil on card, 12 x 9 ½ inches, Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections, Gift of Michael and Aimee Rusinko Kakos, Photograph by Nathan J. Shaulis/Porter Loves
Victor Alfred Paul Vignon, French, 1847 – 1909, Haystacks (Les Meules de Foin), Oil on canvas, 20 x 17 ½ inches, Saint Vincent Art & Heritage Collections, Gift of Michael and Aimee Rusinko, Photograph by Nathan J. Shaulis/Porter Loves
