Oct. 25, 2006

Cooley Showcases Premier Grand Rapids Artist’s Work

(second from left) Dean William Weiner, Professor Paul Carrier, and Dean of the Grand Rapids campus Marion Hilligan

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School and its Art at Cooley committee today unveiled a 1917 Mathias Alten painting, The Approaching Storm, as a piece of its Grand Rapids art collection.

“The fine oil on canvas by Alten is a great addition to our new Grand Rapids building,” said William Weiner, Associate Dean of International, Graduate and Extended Programs. “The Approaching Storm shows a strength and beauty of Michigan weather that is unmatched.”

The original painting, acquired and restored by Cooley, focuses and expands on Alten’s traditional portraits and agrarian landscapes with a touch of whimsy in the form of a tiny human figure running for shelter.

“Mathias Alten was one of Michigan’s preeminent artists at the turn of the century,” Grand Rapids Art Museum Director Celeste Adams said. “The art museum is so pleased to be part of honoring Alten’s legacy in his home city, Grand Rapids.”

Alten (1871-1938) emigrated from Germany in 1889, settling into a sizeable German and Polish immigrant community on the west side of Grand Rapids. Alten started out as a decorator in local furniture factories, but soon began painting under the tutelage of Muskegon artist Edwin A. Turner.

From 1895-1898, Alten supplemented the family income from their paint and wallpaper store with commissions from his art. In 1898, Alten became a U.S. citizen and traveled to Europe to study at the Academies Julian and Colorossi in Paris.

After a year, he returned to Grand Rapids to open the first of several art studios and art schools on Pearl Street. Through the years, Alten traveled, worked and studied in Europe, but he continued to call his East Fulton Street address home.

Founded in 1972, Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the country. Cooley has three campuses across Michigan; its campus in downtown Lansing, its downtown Grand Rapids campus in West Michigan and its Rochester/Oakland University campus in southeast Michigan. In addition to the juris doctor program, students at Cooley can also pursue a master of laws degree in taxation or intellectual property.