In USD 308, value of art trumps price: While Hoisington sold Sandz?n works, Hutch has no plans to give up treasures. [The Hutchinson News, Kan.]

July 17--One of the little known secrets of Hutchinson is that its schools have one of the town's best art collections.

Five years ago, the Hutchinson school district inventoried the works of art in its schools and administrative center and asked an appraiser to determine their value. Local appraiser George William Forst's conclusion was that 97 artworks were worth $237,409.

Some were worth as little as $50, but the gems in the collection were four oil paintings and one limited-edition, signed lithographic print by Birger Sandzen, a Swedish artist who came to the United States to teach at Bethany College in 1894 and produced a prodigious number of now prized paintings before his death in 1954.

Two of his paintings in Hutchinson's collection, "Creek at Moonrise" and "A Mountain Stream," were appraised at $45,000 each in 2005. "The Friendly Stream" was estimated to be worth $39,250 and "Hillside Brook" $35,000. The black and white lithograph, "Meadow Pond," was worth $850.

They might be worth much more today.

Last month, two Sandzen oil paintings and one watercolor owned by the Hoisington school district were sold at auction for $171,500. "Wild Horse Creek," a 30-by-40-inch oil painting, fetched the biggest prize, $107,500.

"Autumn Colors," a 20-by-24-inch oil painting the same size as USD 308's Sandzen oil paintings, went for $55,000.

The Hoisington school district decided to sell the paintings because it couldn't afford to properly preserve, protect and insure the paintings. In fact, the district had loaned the paintings to the Eva Shafer Memorial Gallery at Barton County Community College, which had insurance to cover them. The loan to the gallery also allowed for the paintings to be displayed and studied.

"Wild Horse Creek" and "Autumn Colors," which went for $55,000 at the auction, had been gifts of Hoisington High School's classes of 1946 and 1953, in memory of classmates who had died. Their names will now be on scholarships funded by the interest on the proceeds from the sale of the two oil paintings and a Sandzen watercolor painting that sold for $9,000.

The company that auctioned the paintings also has arranged for high-quality photographic reproductions of the paintings to be given to Hoisington High.

Hutchinson school board President Jeff Nichols said there's been no thought or discussion of selling USD 308's Sandzens during his nine years on the board.

"The district values the art," he said. "I don't think we'd ever seriously look at or consider selling them. Music and the performing arts and all that is something we think are key. We clarified in our board directives that we feel art is something we feel is important to be included in the 20th Century skills.

"All the data is saying that whether it's performing arts, music, three-dimensional art or painting, the more students are exposed to it the better rounded students they become."

Randy Norwood, executive director of operations for the Hutchinson school district, keeps the inventory and appraisal of Hutchinson's artworks compiled by Forst five years ago in two very thick three-ring binders.

In one of the documents accompanying the appraisals, Forst asserted that the true value of the collection "is the history of the community it represents."

One of Hutchinson Sandzen paintings, "Hillside Brook," hangs today in the office of Interim Superintendent Jan Strecker. According to Forst, "Hillside Brook" illustrated Sandzen's use of a style called impasto, in which paint was laid on so thickly that the strokes of the brush or painting knife are readily apparent. Sandzen also used a bright palette, which Forst said included such colors as cadmium yellow, raw sienna, alizarin crimson and cobalt violet.

Harwood said that all of Hutchinson's valuable paintings are displayed in areas where there is an alarm system that would alert the district and the Hutchinson Police Department in the event of an after-hours break-in. The paintings also are secured with special hardware designed to make it difficult for thieves to steal paintings.

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Copyright (c) 2010, The Hutchinson News, Kan.

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