Carol Peck-Hill, ’75, the daughter of longtime iconic Boise State art professor and chair Dr. Louis Peck, is working with his former students to shine the light on her father’s life, legacy and art. The College of Education alum has generously gifted several hundred digital works from her father’s extensive watercolor portfolio to the Keith and Catherine Stein Luminary — Boise State’s interactive digital museum located in the new Center for the Visual Arts.
Through the Dr. Peck Legacy Project, 25 art portfolios, including 250 paintings in a special digital format, have been gifted to the luminary for an upcoming public showing in 2022. An additional 250 digital works will be gifted on Louis Peck’s 100th birthday in September of 2022.
“The magnification of these watercolors on the Luminary’s walls reveal details of paint strokes and jewel tones that will make you look more closely at your next painting,” said Stein Luminary Director Lisa Hunt. “Dr. Peck’s students are sure to enjoy a reflective exploration with their former instructor.”
Lisa Hunt
In addition to being a gifted watercolorist, Dr. Peck helped build and lead the Department of Art, Design and Visual Studies at Boise State from 1955 to 1989. During his tenure, the department came to be regarded as one of the top art facilities in the Pacific Northwest, impacting thousands of art students — an impact that continues today, said former student James Walker, ’64, ’68.
The Stein Luminary combines immersive projection with touch-activated screens. Its cutting-edge content features visual and performing arts, and cultural exhibitions by Boise State faculty and students. The Stein Luminary provides opportunities for the community to explore creative arts, cultural sites and scientific phenomena from around the globe, fostering interdisciplinary activity and research through exhibitions, performances, and installations. This new facility generates vital and meaningful conversations about arts, humanities, technology and science in our world.
The high-resolution scans of Dr. Peck’s watercolors inaugurate the Stein Luminary’s local collection, for which new acquisitions undergo review with the programming committee. All donations of physical artwork to Boise State University’s collections are facilitated through Fonda Portales, university art curator, at fondaportales@boisestate.edu.
