Alumnus Harvey Peyton’s love of art has resulted in many generous gifts to West Virginia University’s Art Collection over the years.
Most recently, Peyton and his wife Jennifer have donated another dozen valuable works of art to the Art Museum from their personal collection, along with a financial gift of $75,000 for the new Art Museum of WVU, currently being completed next door to the Creative Arts Center.
“We are indebted to Harvey and Jennifer Peyton for their thoughtful and generous gifts—both works of art and financial support to the Art Museum,” said Art Museum Director Joyce Ice. “The donation of art enhances and strengthens the collection and through exhibitions, educational programs and publications, the Peytons’ gifts will be appreciated by a wide audience.
“Harvey has great enthusiasm and appreciation for art, and enjoys learning about, collecting, and sharing it. He also has a good eye for museum-quality pieces. We are thrilled that he has now chosen to support the Art Museum’s capital project with a financial contribution as well.”
The most recent gifts from the Peytons are primarily works on paper, many of them providing a commentary related to the political and social justice issues of their time, such as Ben Shahn’s “Three S.S. Men Leading a Civilian” (c. 1940), and “What Shall we do with the Nazis?” (1944), as well as “It Can’t Happen Here,” a 1943 linocut by Werner Drewes. The compelling images of these works, coupled with their powerful messages, resonate with viewers decades after they were created.
Peyton’s contributions over the years have included not only prints, but also paintings, drawings and mixed-media works by artists such as George Ames Aldrich, Wayman Adams, Pauline Palmer, Emil Bisttram, William Robinson Leigh, Werner Drewes, Grant Wood, Carl Holty, Philip Evergood, Harry Sternberg, Riva Helfond and Bernarda Bryson-Shahn, among others.
His gifts of works by West Virginia artist Blanche Lazzell have helped make the Art Museum of WVU the holder of the largest public collection of Lazzell’s art.
Peyton graduated from WVU in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in English and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the WVU College of Law in 1974, where he was lead articles editor of the West Virginia Law Review and was honored with the Order of the Coif.
He has been practicing law for 35 years at Peyton Law Firm, which he founded, with offices in Nitro, Putnam County, West Virginia.
Peyton has served on the Board of Directors of The Avampato Discovery Museum at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences in Charleston, the Board of Directors of the Putnam County Museum in the Community, and the Board of Directors of the Sunrise Museum in Charleston. He is a member of the Collections Committee of the Huntington Museum of Art and a former president of The Juliet Museum of Art Collectors Club.
Peyton’s art collection of nearly 200 pieces is mostly 20th century American art. Many of the works hang either in the Nitro offices of the Peyton Law Firm or are available for personal viewing or loan to academic, civic and cultural-interest groups.
See the Peyton Law Firm Online Art Gallery: http://www.peytonlawfirm.com/Art-Collection/
Peyton’s contribution was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $1 billion comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2017.
-WVU-
cl/11/5/14
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