Rush Library Special Collection

On November 4, 2008, the renovated Florida SouthWestern State College Richard H. Rush Library opened to students and the community. Thanks to the generosity of donors, Dr. Richard H. and Mrs. Julia Rush, an extensive 16-month, $8 million renovation transformed the Library into a state-of-the-art, 21st century digital library, serving thousands of students per year on the Lee Campus.

Exhibit Hours

Monday — Friday:
10:00am - 2:00pm

Saturday & Sunday:
Closed

Rush Library building at night.

Featured Exhibits

High Renaissance to Impressionism

Portrait of Lady Jane Orde, Oil on canvas, John Hoppner (1758 — 1810). An extraordinary exhibit of Old Master Paintings from the Julia and Richard H. Rush Collection hangs in a dedicated gallery space on the first floor of the Rush Library on the Lee Campus. The art, collected by the lenders over 50 years, provides riveting examples of the progress and history of art for FSW students and the general public. Artists represented include Bernardino Luini (c. 1480/82-1532), Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), Pietro della Vecchia (1603-1678), Carlo Maratta (1625-1713), Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), John Hoppner (1758-1810), Edouard Manet (1832-1883) and Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919).

More Information on the High Renaissance to Impressionism Exhibit.

Antiques and paintings on loan from the collection of Dr. Richard H. and Mrs. Julia Rush.

The Sanders Porcelain Exhibit

Chinese porcelain bowl. The mystique and beauty of Eastern art is explored through a rich collection of more than 100 pieces of Chinese and Japanese porcelain dating from as early as the 18th century Chinese Qing dynasty. For centuries revered and coveted for its beauty and value, Chinese and Japanese porcelain offer a snapshot and testament to the cultural and global impact of these two nations on art and trade throughout the 18th—20th centuries.

More Information on the Saunders Porcelain Exhibit Website.

Generously donated by The George & Mary Jo Sanders Foundation.

"The paintings in the Rush Collections Gallery represent 400 years of the history of culture and painting. They also show evidence of the work of students apprenticed to famous artists, and to the working process of artists from the 15th century to the 19th century. Our students can see the evolution of both western culture and artistic techniques in these paintings."