Valerie's Piranesis
When Valerie Anne Spierling '89 died of cancer in the spring of 1994, her mother, Penelope Dean Robb '61, and a small group of friends determined that she would be remembered in a special way. Memorial donations were sought in lieu of flowers in the hope that an acquisition could be made in Spierling's name for the Colby Museum of Art.
This summer the product of that effort materialized when two prints by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, purchased with donations to the Spierling memorial fund and money from the Jere Abbott Acquisitions Fund, arrived at the museum.
The prints, which depict views of Rome, are from Piranesi's Vedute di Roma, a set of 137 etchings published in the late 18th century. Christopher Gaillard '90, who helped select the prints along with Mark Taylor '90, Catherine Long '90 and Robb, says they symbolize many things about Spierling. "Valerie was increasingly interested in the Old Masters, particularly eighteenth-century masters, and in architectural views," he said. "These prints also evoke her interest in the decorative arts--furniture and costume."
Gaillard, who works at Christie's auction house in New York, says the committee wanted to provide the museum with works that students would find useful in their study of art history. "When I was at Colby I curated a show on contemporary prints, and there was a lot in the museum to draw on. Piranesi is sort of an art historical chestnut--his prints are famous. We felt it was important for the College to own at least a prime example of that work," he said.
Spierling worked at a contemporary art gallery in New York soon after graduating from Colby, and from there went to London to study decorative art and fine art in a program operated by Sotheby's. She was working at the Tepper Gallery, a small New York auction house, when she became ill. She died in March 1994.
"It is our hope that the students of Colby will utilize the prints as milestones in printmaking and art history and be able to examine the prints closely, as Valerie utilized other objects in the museum collection throughout her tenure at Colby," Gaillard said.
Spierling also is remembered through a memorial scholarship for New York City students established in 1994 by Peter Vlachos '58.