“Sometimes you find a real goodie in there.”
Professor Emeritus of Political Science Melissa Butler H’85 is describing, in her typically understated way, a $600 investment and a $24,000 return.
Twenty years ago, two earthy, abstract paintings by Matthew Deleget ’94 at his senior art show caught Butler’s eye. For years she
had been searching for something to fit two large spaces in her Marshall Street home in Crawfordsville. So she paid $300 apiece for the pair.
“I was impressed by the colors and the scope and the style,” she recalls. “The abstract nature was interesting for this house, being as old as it is. It’s an interesting contrast.”
In the two decades since, Deleget has blossomed into an influential contem porary American artist. Those $300 paintings are now worth $12,000 each.
“I’m living every art buyer’s fantasy,” she says. “I truly got in on the ground floor.”
Deleget says that show was transformational for him.
“Professor Butler’s early support of my work was incredible, honestly. To have a professor acquire a work of mine was exhilarating. I felt like a professional. And her interest continues to today. That’s an extraordinarily long commitment, 20 years and counting.”
Butler relocated to Florida last summer, but the paintings didn’t make the trip. Her new home doesn’t feature the 11-foot ceilings as before. Instead she has donated the paintings to the College’s permanent collection. She hopes they will inspire a new generation
of Wabash men.
“I’ve lived with these for more than 20 years and enjoyed them very much,” said the newly minted Fort Myers resident. “I hope they will
be in a place where students can see them, and one might say, ‘This guy made it. Hey, I could do that, too.’”
See more of Deleget’s work at matthewdeleget.com