Purdue’s Degas collection will find new life across campus
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s collection of bronze sculptures by the French impressionist Edgar Degas will be relocated to buildings and spaces throughout the West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses, creating new opportunities for students, faculty, staff and visitors to encounter original works of art in places where they learn, work and gather every day.
The Degas Gallery in the Purdue Memorial Union will close Oct. 9. The sculptures will be installed in their new locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis during winter recess and will be ready for the Purdue community when classes resume in January. The new locations for the artwork will be announced during the first week of December. A map of each piece’s location will be available on the Purdue University Galleries website at https://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/rueffschool/galleries/index.html. “The Degas Gallery in the Purdue Memorial Union was designed with the understanding that it would have a finite lifespan in that location,” said Erika Kvam, director and head curator of Purdue Galleries. The gallery features mobile display cases and removable lighting so that the artwork could be relocated one day.
The sculptures — a gift from Purdue alumnus Avrum Gray (BS mechanical engineering 1956) — represent different themes in Degas’ work, including dancers and horses. Purdue Galleries will place pieces in a variety of campus buildings and settings, rather than concentrating the artwork in a single gallery, allowing more people to encounter the work as part of their everyday experiences at Purdue.
“Art has the power to interrupt our routines, invite us to slow down and help us see the world differently,” said Chris Yeomans, the Justin S. Morrill Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “By moving this artwork beyond a single gallery and into the places where students learn, work and gather, we are expanding its reach and creating opportunities for unexpected moments of discovery. This is exactly the kind of impact a liberal arts education can have: bringing new perspectives into the everyday experiences of our students and enriching the intellectual and cultural life of the entire university.”
Since its opening, the Degas Gallery has served as both a public gallery and a learning space. Classes have visited and used the gallery as part of their educational experiences.
“The campuswide installation builds on that educational mission while extending it to more places and more people,” Kvam said. “A student walking to class, studying in a common area or entering a campus building may now encounter a work of art where it is least expected, creating opportunities for curiosity, reflection and conversation.”
The move also complements the Academy for Creative Endeavors, which was launched this fall by the College of Liberal Arts to foster creativity, collaboration and innovative approaches to learning. Together, these initiatives reflect the college’s commitment to bringing the perspectives and practices of the liberal arts to the challenges and opportunities facing Purdue and society.
“The liberal arts are at their most powerful when they are woven into the fabric of university life,” Yeomans said. “This transition allows us to take what was happening in the Degas Gallery and amplify it. The artwork will become part of the campus landscape and part of how Purdue students learn, think, notice and connect.”
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a research institution ranked among the top 10 public universities in the United States. More than 111,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. As a land-grant university committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free.
Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu