Charles and Anna Corcoran recently donated a self-portrait of Arno Maris to the University’s art gallery in Ely Campus Center, which bears the name of the long-time chair of Westfield State’s Art Department.
A graduate of Westfield High School, Charles was a student of Arno Maris’s wife, Maria, who taught Spanish courses at Westfield State. Witnessing Charles’s talent in art and Spanish, she encouraged him to attend Yale University (from which he graduated). Charles’ father graduated from Westfield State in 1951.
An avid art collector, Charles found the portrait of Arno Maris in a junk shop in Huntington, Mass. about five years ago. After hanging it in a few locations, including his home, he decided to donate it to the University’s Gallery for others to enjoy. It currently hangs on the wall inside the Gallery, where it has replaced a different (and smaller) portrait of Arno Maris.