Embracing the Southwest

An alum’s love of the Southwest and respect for the history and culture of indigenous people led him to bequeath a stunning collection of Southwestern artwork to the Regina A. Quick Center of the Arts.

The contemporary collection from the late David Van Buren, ’69, contains 27 paintings and drawings, 64 pieces of Southwest pottery by artists whose families have been creating pottery in the traditional manner for hundreds of years, and a collection of modern Kachinas that help bring to life the culture of the American Southwest.

Van Buren graduated magna cum laude in 1969 from St. Bonaventure, where he had majored in English literature and psychology and minored in philosophy and classical languages. He later would go on to earn a Ph.D. in criminal justice from SUNY Albany in 1984.

“The Van Buren collection adds a new dimension to the University Art Collection,” said Evelyn Penman, assistant director and senior curator at the Quick Center. “Premiering this fall alongside other cultural art from our collection, it will eventually be integrated into our contemporary galleries so that it can be acknowledged as the exceptional art that it is.”

Van Buren had a long and prestigious career at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. In 1975, he joined the faculty as an as-assistant professor in criminal justice. He retired in 2013 after serving as associate vice chancellor and dean of graduate studies for 13 years.

It was while serving as a visiting scholar in criminal justice at Northern Arizona University, researching peacemaking and the tribal courts of the Navajo Nation, that Van Buren fell in love with the American Southwest. He embraced its history and culture and spent part of each year traveling and learning about indigenous people, notably the Hopi.

Van Buren contacted the Quick Center in 2020 to talk with the director about making his art collection a gift to the art center. When Van Buren died unexpectedly in November of 2022, plans were made to travel to Wisconsin to pack up the artwork and bring it to campus. 

Now that the collection is on campus, it is being cataloged and photographed before being assembled into the exhibition that is planned for the Quick Center.