STETSON UNIVERSITY PERMANENT COLLECTION THE VERA BLUEMNER KOUBA COLLECTION OSCAR BLUEMNER'S DAUGHTER, Vera Bluemner Kouba (1903-1997), bequeathed her extensive collection of more than 1,000 of her father's works to Stetson University in 1997. The legacy included works in varied media, from pencil and charcoal studies to major works in oil and watercolor, and from every period of his production. KOUBA, WHO always felt her father had been overlooked in the art world, preserved these works in her modest home in DeLand, where she had retired with her husband, Rudolph Kouba, in the 1970s. Appropriately, since Oscar Bluemner was a strong advocate of the connection between music and the visual arts, the couple was drawn to Stetson through their love of music and enjoyment of School of Music concerts. Vera Kouba abandoned early aspirations as a concert pianist because of her family's failing financial circumstances. When her husband died in the early 1990s, Kouba looked for ways to preserve and enhance her father's legacy after she was gone. She chose Stetson University as the depository for this important legacy. Before her death, she attended two small exhibitions of her father's work in Duncan Gallery and was honored with a memorial plaque. The Vera Bluemner Kouba Collection, curated by Dr. Roberta Favis, is now permanently housed in the Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center. The Bluemner Gallery features rotating exhibitions of works from the collection.

THE VERA BLUEMNER KOUBA COLLECTION OSCAR BLUEMNER'S DAUGHTER, Vera Bluemner Kouba (1903-1997), bequeathed her extensive collection of more than 1,000 of her father's works to Stetson University in 1997. The legacy included works in varied media, from pencil and charcoal studies to major works in oil and watercolor, and from every period of his production. KOUBA, WHO always felt her father had been overlooked in the art world, preserved these works in her modest home in DeLand, where she had retired with her husband, Rudolph Kouba, in the 1970s. Appropriately, since Oscar Bluemner was a strong advocate of the connection between music and the visual arts, the couple was drawn to Stetson through their love of music and enjoyment of School of Music concerts. Vera Kouba abandoned early aspirations as a concert pianist because of her family's failing financial circumstances. When her husband died in the early 1990s, Kouba looked for ways to preserve and enhance her father's legacy after she was gone. She chose Stetson University as the depository for this important legacy. Before her death, she attended two small exhibitions of her father's work in Duncan Gallery and was honored with a memorial plaque. The Vera Bluemner Kouba Collection, curated by Dr. Roberta Favis, is now permanently housed in the Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center. The Bluemner Gallery features rotating exhibitions of works from the collection.

STETSON UNIVERSITY HOMER AND DOLLY HAND ART CENTER School Visit Tours School visit tours enable students and teachers to experience the Hand Art Center through guided visits. Students are encouraged to explore contemporary and modern works of art in the Hand Art Center’s collection, and are provided with opportunities to engage with concepts and ideas related to artworks and their personal experiences. Students will look closely at works of art and articulate their ideas about them. This emphasis on analytical skills provides a vital support to art studies and other areas of the school curriculum—from observation, analysis, to conversation, vocabulary building, and writing skills in language classes. During these guided visits, the Hand Art Center coordinator and student assistants lead interactive tours that explore art in depth through discussion, writing, and drawing in the galleries. Museum visits are between 45 and 60 minutes.