The University Guild

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Digging Into Donors: Join University Guild curator Madeline Crispell for an exploration of three of the donors whose collecting priorities and personal taste helped shape the University Guild collection.

Digging Into Donors Join University Guild curator Madeline Crispell for an exploration of three of the donors whose collecting priorities and personal taste helped shape the Uni...

MEET THE MEMBERS

Madeline Crispell is a marvelous inspiration for all of us at the Guild and she keeps to the founders’ beliefs of maintaining a clean, well maintained collection while educating both the university and the community. The Collection displays the past in amazing ways; we can reflect on how people used to live, how ceramics were utilized, and how we can inspire ourselves through artistic reflection.

From the University Guild Art Collection: Sunday Morning Oak Park by Helene Warder Beggs | Oil on Canvas, 17.5 “ x 23.5 “

On the east wall of Scott Hall hangs a painting that shows a bustling crowd of elegantly dressed figures, likely from the 1920’s-30’s, gathering in front of a Gothic-style church. The artist uses thick, expressive brush work characteristic of late impressionism-focusing on the bright colors of the congregants attire - teals, yellows, and reds-against the solemn, heavy stone of the church entrance.

The artist is Helene Warder Beggs, born in Elmhurst Illinois, an early 20th century American Impressionist and Modern artist active around the 1920’s and 1930’s. She was a versatile artist who worked in oils, watercolors, and even decorative arts like ceramics and keramic designs.

Her portfolio includes crowd scenes, stylized figures and botanical illustrations. Sixty of her mushroom illustrations are in the collection of the Morton Arboretum.

This painting Sunday Morning in Oak Park was a gift to the University Guild by the artist in honor of Mrs. Robert Millar, a woman generous with her time and wisdom and who served on the curator’s committee for over 40 years.

-Kay Burlingham, Art Collection Director

MEET OUR MEMBERS

Kay Burlingham, University Guild Art Collection Director

As Collection Director, I define my role as a storyteller. I love selecting and researching individual pieces and giving them a voice. I dive into the rabbit-hole, not knowing where it will take me. I come away with stories of forgotten artists, lost traditions, and hidden details. Then… there are always unexpected twists and turns that make the story precious.

The University Guild concluded its 2025–2026 lecture season on May 4 with an engaging program drawn from our own art collection. Kay Burlingham, Art Collection Director, shared the life stories of four women whose portraits hang in Scott Hall, while Madeline Crispell, University Guild Curator, presented fascinating accounts of donors whose gifts have impacted the Guild's direction. Thank you to all who attended!

On May 4th at 1:15 pm, we will have our annual meeting followed by a tour of the Guild Lounge Collection led by the fabulous Kay Burlingham, University Guild Board, Collection Director & Madeline Crispell, University Guild Curator. Wear your pearls! This is a UG tradition during our annual meeting.

From the University Guild Art Collection: Hispano-Moresque Platter
Spanish, c.15th century, ceramic

Moorish lusterware, made by Islamic potters in Spain, grew out of ceramic techniques first developed in 9th-century Iraq. By the 15th century, these pieces were highly valued across Europe. Their most striking feature is a shimmering, metallic surface in gold and copper tones. They reflect light like polished metal, even though they are made of clay. These objects were both beautiful and meaningful. Owning Hispano-Moresque lusterware showed wealth, access to international trade, and an appreciation for Islamic craftsmanship. The designs often include geometric patterns, figures, coats of arms, and calligraphy. The rich gold and copper colors are often paired with a deep cobalt blue glaze.

The platter in the University Guild collection features a curious creature holding a scroll with the words “Ave Maria.” This combination of Islamic and Christian motifs reflects the blending of cultures at the time.

By the late 16th century, production in Spain became more standardized, and the quality and color range declined. Today, fine examples of Moorish lusterware can be seen in museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as in Scott Hall on Northwestern’s campus, where its glowing surfaces still draw attention.

-Kay Burlingham, Art Collection Director

Our April 6th Program was a great success with Eileen Clancy speaking about Costuming the Show. We all appreciated learning about how the NU Staff teaches students how to create costumes, coordinate with the set design colors, timing, using an orderly spreadsheet for many details, developing team building skills, costs of fabrics, phenomenal design skills, interacting with the whole cast and production crew, and knowing what is in 100 closets. We could have listened to Eileen all day.

Eileen Clancy is the Costume Shop Supervisor for stage performances at Northwestern University, Wirtz Performing Center.

Join us on April 6th at 1:30 pm in Scott Hall for "Costuming the Show; Eileen Clancy, Costume Shop Supervisor, Northwestern University, Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts."

Join Eileen from the Wirtz Center to take a journey through the A to Z’s on theatrical world building employing clothing. Costuming taps into the preconceived prejudice, stereotyping, and bias that we as human's employee. Theatre is, after all, a mirrored reflection of the real world, with clothing giving us insight into who a person is. Can't wait to see you there!

From the University Guild Art Collection: Dedham Pottery, American, c. 1898, 8” x 5” Ceramic


Dedham Pottery began with a moment of inspiration. In 1876, at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Hugh C. Robertson (pictured below) encountered Chinese ceramics with a shimmering, crackled glaze. The experience so inspired him that he developed his own crackle glazing process.

Back home in Dedham, Robertson experimented until he developed what he called “craquelware,” a distinctive crackle glaze that would become the signature of Dedham Pottery. Each piece carried a quiet tension between control and chance, as fine lines spread unpredictably across the surface, giving the pottery its unmistakable character.

For decades, the Robertson family sustained the company, building a reputation for refined American art pottery. But its story took an abrupt turn in 1942, when Robertson’s grandson left to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Before departing, he closed the business and sold off the remaining inventory in a remarkable half-price sale at Gimbels—a quiet, almost unceremonious ending for such an influential workshop.

Yet Dedham Pottery didn’t disappear. Today, its delicate crackle glaze and understated elegance have made it highly prized among collectors.

Here in Scott Hall, the University Guild’s Dedham Pottery collection—generously donated by Mrs. Frank Farnsworth, John H. Wigmore, Mrs. Wigmore, and Mrs. Howard Irvin—keeps that story alive. What began as a moment of curiosity at a world’s fair now endures, piece by piece, in the quiet presence of these objects.

-Kay Burlingham, Art Collection Director

Our March 2nd Program was a great success with Melissa Isaacson speaking about the sports and sports journalism with a wide lens. We all appreciated her brief discussion about the Hockey Gold Medal Women’s and Men’s teams. “Missy” discussed her opportunities covering the legendary Michael Jordan during his reign on the Chicago Bulls, her joy and success playing Basketball at Niles West HS, her team winning the state championship, and teaching journalism at NU. It was great listening to her spontaneous flow on every topic she addressed.