AN ICONIC COLLEGE VIEW: "UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS" RUMMELL, RICHARD (1848-1924)

 

University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)

Richard Rummell

Restrike engraving from the original plate (c.1913)

Printed on heavy woven paper and hand colored

Plate Size: 17 x 29 ¼

At the turn of the century, the accomplished landscape artist Richard Rummell (1848-1924) painted a panoramic bird’s-eye view watercolor of the University of Illinois. In this selection of paintings of American colleges and universities, Rummell selected the twenty best colleges in the nation at the time of painting. His inclusion of these universities in his oeuvre indicates his immense respect for these institutions. From this watercolor, a copper-plate was engraved and a limited number of pulls (engravings) were distributed. Today, Arader Galleries owns the collection of copper plates used for engraving and watercoloring. Using the original process and 100 year old original plates, Arader is proudly re-striking and making the beautiful college view available for acquisition the same way it was 100 years ago.

“West Point for the Working World,” notes John Milton Gregory, the first president of the University of Illinois. Following the Morrill-Land Grant Act of 1862, Illinois ran with the opportunity to form its first public university. The state would acquire 480,000 acres at this time, then turning towards their intention of creating a university that would educate the workers of the state. Thus, the initial name for the state university would be the Illinois Industrial University. Its initial location would be between Urbana’s courthouse and Champaign’s Illinois Central train station. The University of Illinois truly embodies that mission of providing an education for the workers, allowing individuals to achieve phenomenal success following their time in Urbana-Champaign. 

With great increases in the engineering school’s enrollment (and a desire to differentiate this institution from one for delinquents), the school was renamed to be the University of Illinois. Through the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, advancements in the university’s agricultural and engineering departments helped cement its reputation among the finest institutions in the nation in these areas. Additions to the University Library would also help to form one of the biggest libraries in the United States. 

Rummell’s depiction of the University of Illinois captures that original industrial feel. Although several buildings are particularly impressive, it is the overall essence of the campus that reminds one of the aims of creating a school for the workers. Much of the wonderful architecture that decorates the current campus would not be built until after Rummell finished his painting. Rummell is likely painting from the perspective of W Springfield Ave and S Wright St, looking south and east upon the campus. As evident to any alum of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, that would be the current location of the Bardeen Quadrangles, home to much of the engineering department. 

If one peers towards the center of the painting, they will notice that, instead of Illini Union, University Hall looks over the rest of campus. This was one of the original buildings for the Illinois Industrial University and would later be replaced with Illini Union in 1939. Just to the right of University Hall is Altgeld Hall. Built between 1896 and 1897, this building originally served as the College Library. In 1970, it would be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Rummell’s detail helps to illustrate why this building remains such a staple of the Urbana-Champaign campus.

To order a college view, please email loricohen@aradergalleries.com or call 215-796-0358 (mobile) or 215-735-8811 (landline).