From Virginia Monroe’s collection is Howard County artist Brian Mahieu’s oil on canvas “Late Spring Landscape, Garden.” He is best known for his plein aire work, heavy paint strokes, and extensive use of blue and green found in this field of irises.Alumni add to Ashby-Hodge collection.

The Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art currently has more than 1,000 pieces in its permanent collection. Occasionally, the gallery board will purchase a piece from a showing at the gallery on the Central Methodist University campus; however, the number of items they can purchase is limited by budget and storage considerations.
One of the best things that can happen to a small gallery, such as the Ashby-Hodge, is when a lover of art becomes a supporter of the gallery - especially when that support comes as a gift of art.
As part of the current show at the A-H, gifts from two such lovers of art are being showcased, along with the works of artist Jerry Walters in the show “The Figure in Woodcuts.” These two patrons have not only loved art, but loved CMU enough that they gave of their deeply personal and lifelong collections of art to the Ashby-Hodge.
Virginia Monroe, who passed away in February, and Dr. John Hutcherson, who is still a lively supporter of Central, have given works from their personal collections to the Gallery to share with all its patrons.
Virginia Monroe, known to her friends as Ginny, had a long history with CMU, and especially the Gallery. She was born in Oklahoma but graduated from Fayette High School and settled in Fayette after she married. Her husband, John, was an insurance man; but she was a force of nature.
She was a town leader throughout her life, active in various clubs and theatre. Monroe decided to go back to college later in life and attended Central, graduating in 1970. Monroe was passionate about art, majored in art, and participated in art groups in Fayette. After she graduated, she taught art and English in Glasgow before retiring.
In 1993 she became involved with The Ashby-Hodge Gallery, which was being established through the support of other art and Central lovers, the late Dr. Lawrence and Mrs. Loretta Ashby, the late Dr. Robert and Anna Mae Besgrove Hodge, and the Central College (now CMU) Class of 1943. The Gallery was moved into renovated Classic Hall in 2012, where it fills the entire first floor.
Monroe had become a docent and established a 30-member docent program for the gallery when it first opened in CMU’s Cupples Hall, and she continued as director of docents until her death. She also sat on the Ashby-Hodge Board of Directors from its inception until her passing.
Monroe loved art and loved Central. She painted and sculpted and collected art, including from her many travels. When she died, she bequeathed some of her personal art collection to The Ashby-Hodge Gallery, a treasure trove of styles, color, and media.
In part, her gifts include works by artists Brian Mahieu, Robert McDonald Graham Jr., Stephen Rust, Clarence Kincaid, Donna Berryhill, Eric Abraham, Beth Ray, and others, including a couple of her own originals.
John Hutcherson, a highly respected cardiologist and surgeon who lives in the Denver area has also gifted much of his art collection to The Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art.
Hutcherson gained his Doctor of Medicine degree at Vanderbilt University. After residencies and fellowships in New York City and Nashville and a two-year stint with the U.S. Army Medical Corps, he did a residency in cardiology at the University of Colorado Medical Center.
He settled in Colorado where, when not saving lives, he is often found skiing the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. He held an academic position at the University of Colorado Medical Center, and was later director of the coronary care unit for Swedish Hospital in Englewood, where he lives and where he set up a private practice.
The artists Hutcherson shared in his gift represent a wide variety of media from oils to tapestries to sculptures and include Dan Ostermiller, Rick Brogan, Tom Clark, James Disney, and Mick Shimonek.
After taking a college course in art history, Hutcherson became an avid art fan. He especially enjoys the works of Salvador Dali and has purchased a number of Dali prints. The six Dali prints he donated to the Ashby-Hodge Gallery form the centerpiece of the artwork in his overall gift.
When alumni love Central as much as these two, their largess benefits the University, its students, the town of Fayette, and the entire area. The University and The Ashby-Hodge Gallery are both proud and humbled by their gifts.
The current show runs through Nov. 17. Hours are 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday. There is no charge. It is handicapped accessible from the west side of the building. For more information, call Curator Denise Gebhardt or Registrar Joe Geist at 660-248-6304.