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A Dawson original that hangs at the Manierre Dawson Gallery at West Shore Community College.
VICTORY TOWNSHIP — West Shore Community College could add eight works by pioneering American abstract artist and longtime Riverton Township resident Manierre Dawson to its collection through a donation being presented to the college’s Board of Trustees.
The donation includes six watercolors and two oil paintings on canvas. The oils were exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Institute in 1923, according to information provided to trustees.
The board is scheduled to consider accepting the works at its 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, meeting in the John M. Eaton Board Room.
Manierre Dawson
The works are being donated by Myra Bairstow, a curator who, according to the college, holds the largest Manierre Dawson collection in the world. Bairstow is selecting works for donation with the goal of giving WSCC examples spanning Dawson’s early through late periods and representing several media, including sculpture, watercolors and acrylics.
Dawson, who lived from 1887 to 1969, is recognized as a pioneering American abstract artist and early modernist. Although trained as an engineer, he developed an artistic approach incorporating geometry, rhythm and experimentation. The college describes some of his work as among the earliest truly nonrepresentational art created in the United States.
Dawson spent the latter part of his life in Mason County, where he farmed and continued to paint. That local connection has helped make WSCC a regional center for preserving and interpreting his work.
The college maintains the Manierre Dawson Gallery on campus and has presented exhibitions and educational programs highlighting Dawson’s place in American art history.
Bairstow has also worked with the college on other efforts to preserve Dawson’s legacy. According to the board material, the representation of Dawson’s sculpture “Daedadyl” located in the college quad would not have been possible without her involvement.
Bairstow’s research has also contributed to the understanding of Dawson’s place in American modernism. She curated “Manierre Dawson: Engineering Abstraction,” an exhibition the college said brought renewed national attention to Dawson’s contributions to early abstract art.
Under WSCC policy, donations of property may be accepted by the college president subject to confirmation by the Board of Trustees. The administration is recommending the board accept the six watercolors and two oils.
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