Look and Learn
Rick Rinehart reading a book in a chair placed in front of a wall gallery
Samek Director Rick Rinehart (left) created a living-room ambiance to encourage visitors to engage with an art collection gifted to the Samek by Stuart Coyne ’48. The exhibit includes Coyne’s handwritten notations (right).

An Artistic Sanctuary

In a new exhibit, the Samek Art Museum gives us 165 reasons to slow down and reflect
by Katie Neitz
photography by Emily Paine
Despite never amassing great wealth, Stuart Coyne ’48 amassed a treasured art collection.

Throughout his life, Coyne nurtured his passion for paintings, music, rare and antique books and printmaking by becoming an avid collector. With a modest income from a public relations career, he collected within his means, focusing on pieces that resonated with him personally rather than purely as investments, and supporting artists and art movements that reflected his experiences and values.

Later in life, Coyne’s financial situation necessitated selling beloved pieces to pay bills. When he parted with a piece, he left an empty space on the walls of his San Francisco apartment.

Following his death in 2023, Coyne bequeathed 265 prints and a few paintings to Bucknell — 165 of them are now on display in the Samek Art Museum. Curated by Samek Director Rick Rinehart, the exhibit Slow Looking aligns with movements like “slow food” and “slow travel,” which encourage a deep appreciation and thoughtful engagement with one’s surroundings — in this case, with Coyne’s art collection.

Slow Looking
Samek Art Museum
Elaine Langone Center
Through Dec. 8, 2024
Samek Art Museum gallery wall
handwritten note on blue paper from the Samek Art Museum
handwritten note on white paper from the Samek Art Museum
handwritten note on gray paper from the Samek Art Museum
“The concept of ‘slow looking’ has some radical undertones in that it resists consumer culture,” Rinehart says. “It promotes empathy and thoughtful observation without immediate judgment. You observe while remaining open to experiencing the message that comes from someone else’s lived perspective.”

For the exhibit, Rinehart recreated Coyne’s domestic environment, even modeling how he hung and arranged the pieces (and left empty spaces) on his apartment walls. Rinehart says his goal was to create a personal, intimate setting that prompts visitors to linger and reflect.

The collection is influenced by Coyne’s interest in surrealism, South American art, Japanese art and underrepresented women artists and includes pieces by William Blake, Andy Warhol and Jean Monro.

Rinehart added other details, including classical music and weekly tea sessions, featuring informal, topical discussions led by Bucknell faculty, to enhance the immersive feeling of the exhibit. Rinehart intends for the tea talks to reflect the slower pace of listening, looking and learning.