The painting by James Watrous was a study for a mural, "Ancient Commerce," which is displayed in Ingraham Hall.
A lost work by James Watrous was placed on display recently, after being forgotten for at least 25 years. If you don’t know Watrous by name, you likely know his work.
Watrous’ most familiar piece may be the yellow and red figure on the University Avenue side of Vilas Hall, near Park Street. An educator and artist at UW-Madison, Watrous completed the gigantic tile mural, “Freedom of Communication,” in 1973.
The recently unearthed work is a study Watrous created for a 1950s mural. It is a finished painting, representing “Ancient Commerce.” A huge tile mural based on it was installed inside the Commerce Building (now Ingraham Hall) in 1956. A partner mural, “Contemporary Commerce,” was installed the next year.
The unsigned study for “Ancient Commerce” was discovered last summer when Angela Richardson, aesthetics and business project coordinator at the Wisconsin School of Business, was doing an inventory of art in Grainger Hall, at the corner of University Avenue and Park Street. The School of Business — and all its art — moved there from Commerce in 1993, when Grainger was completed.
“I went down into our lower-level storage and was sifting through things that had been set aside,” Richardson says. “I saw this, and it wasn’t labeled, and I thought ‘Gosh, it just looks familiar. What the heck?’ ”
A few weeks later, she says, “my brain caught up with me and, ‘Oh! It’s got to be a Watrous!’”
Watrous (1908-1998) had a long student and faculty career at the UW. He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees here. In late 1933 he began execution of a series of delicate but dynamic egg tempera murals for the Memorial Union, which had opened five years earlier. Watrous’ magnificent murals depicting the lumberjack and Babe the Blue Ox for the Paul Bunyan Room were removed in 2012 and carefully preserved as the Union was renovated. The murals are due to be reinstalled this fall.
Watrous taught at UW through 1976 and was instrumental in the creation of the Chazen (then Elvehjem) Museum of Art. His daughter, Lynne Eich, directed the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission for 30 years, retiring in 2007.
The two- by three-foot study for “Ancient Commerce” is different from its tile counterpart in several ways. It portrays trading practices in the Mediterranean during the height of the Roman Empire. Its media are uncertain.
The School of Business has around 200 pieces of art. The Watrous piece now graces the entrance of its new three-story Learning Commons, which celebrated an opening on May 2. Just inside are historic photographs showing the artist assembling the mosaic at Commerce. The space includes works by notable artists such as Marko Spalatin, and also by business students.
“We want to make sure they develop all aspects of themselves — and not just nose down, how to figure out to be an accountant,” says Richardson. “Yeah, do that, but also make sure to do those things that nurture your soul.”
