LANG

When Gerald and Joyce Lang looked for a permanent home for their collection of Japanese and Japanese-inspired woodblock prints, they chose Gerald’s alma mater, the University of Wyoming. They are donating the collection to the UW Art Museum, along with an endowment to support its continued growth and funding for a dedicated print study room. The new space serves as open storage, a study room, an exhibition gallery, and a teaching laboratory.

“Joyce and I have had a passion for collecting Japanese woodblock prints, both historic and contemporary, for nearly 40 years,” Gerald says. “Those prints adorned the walls of our home, creating our personal art museum where we daily enjoy their beauty.

“Knowing the importance of storage and exhibition space, we committed to supporting the museum’s renovation of its print study room by providing the funds necessary for purchasing new cabinetry for the university’s print collections,” he says.

Gerald came to Laramie in 1966 to pursue graduate studies in botany under the esteemed Dr. Dennis H. Knight. He loved his time here and the friendships he made. His research on the tropical forest of Barro Colorado Island in Panama launched a successful career in science and academia, and that career, in turn, allowed him and Joyce to build the collection they are now sharing with UW.

The Gerald and Joyce Lang Print Study Room was once a studio classroom. It is now the museum’s first dedicated collections study space open to classes, researchers, and the public. State-of-the-art flat-file cabinets line the walls and provide much-needed secure storage for part of the museum’s print collection of more than 5,000 works. The cabinets have glass tops that serve as windows into the collection. Curators and the collections manager rotate artworks through these display shelves so that more of the collection can be seen. Prints also are exhibited on the walls, and the room gives students and scholars a safe setting to study works of art up close.

Because of the Langs’ generosity, prints that were once kept in storage are now available for visitors to see in person.

“We built a relationship with the previous director of the museum, Nicole Crawford, who, after visiting our home in Morgantown, West Virginia, expressed a sincere interest in our print collection,” Gerald says. “That pivotal moment forged our decision to donate our print collection to UW’s Art Museum through our estate plan. Joyce and I are most grateful that the print study room is named in our honor.”