A Passion for Collecting:
The Shirley and Donald Rose Gift

In the years immediately following the surge of American Abstract Expressionism, Dr. Shirley Rose and her husband Dr. Don Rose began an eclectic art collection largely selected from art galleries in Houston and New York City. Generously gifted to Public Art University of Houston System, these nineteen works from the Rose collection consist mainly of works on paper including photography, silkscreens, lithographs, collage, and exceptional original drawings. The University is pleased to receive this generous gift and happy to share the Rose’s love of the arts with students and the wider community.

As a collector, Rose sought the advice of trusted professionals such as Houston gallerist Charles Epstein and curator Anne Tucker, both of whom she credits with infusing her with the passion for collecting. After years of carefully choosing special pieces with which she found a personal connection, Rose found that she had inadvertently collected with a theme of bold black and white. An example of this is her first collected piece, an original pencil drawing by Larry Rivers titled Ace of Spades. Later, works by modern masters such as Robert Motherwell, Joan Miró, and Henry Moore filled her home. Rose equally collected the most celebrated local Texas artists of her era, including Dorothy Hood, James Surls, and Al Souza, among others. A number of female artists with Surrealist tendencies add a hint of mysterious intrigue to the collection, including a rare original drawing by Dorothea Tanning. Recalling her earliest passion for art, Rose remembers the joy she found in the paintings of Jan Vermeer and Henri Matisse, who she designates as her favorites. This enthusiasm later sparked the procurement of a print of one of Matisse’s famous Odalisques, seen here.  

Obtaining three degrees from the University of Houston, and ultimately earning her Ph.D. in Education, Rose spent her career as Superintendent of the Harris County Department of Education. She has graciously served the Houston arts community through such organizations as the Blaffer Art Museum Advisory Board, Moore’s Society Trustee, the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts Dean’s Trustee, the Alley Theatre Board of Advisors, and the University of Houston’s In Tempore Legacy Society. Rose’s gift greatly enhances the University’s Public Art collection and we are thankful for her generosity. This gifting back to her local community and intellectual home highlights Rose’s commitment to the visual arts.