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Priceless
collection to tempt students with taste of fine
arts Classical guitarist and collector taps world
of art to teach local kids vanishing
culture
By Ray Glass, Avalanche Journal
September 17, 2003
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Christian Thomas
Lee won't bring his entire art collection to Honey
Elementary School next week, but students should
prepare to be dazzled nonetheless.
The students will
see original artwork by Picasso and Rembrandt, a
Faberge teaspoon made for the Czar of Russia,
historical documents including the pardon of
President Nixon and artifacts from the
Titanic.
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Front
-page, Los Angeles Herald Tribune,
Wednesday, April 17, 1912 with illustration of lost
child onboard.
Acquired from EAC Gallery, New York
The Christian Thomas Lee Collection of Fine
Art
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In all, about 30
pieces of the private Christian Thomas Lee
Collection of Fine Art will be shown to students
Monday through Friday. Lee will attend the weeklong
session and discuss the art and historical items
with students.
He described some
of the art work as "absolutely priceless."
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Historical
works
Historical
documents and artifacts and art work from the
private collection of Christian Thomas Lee
scheduled to be shown to students at Honey and
Waters elementary schools next week.
- Military
commission signed by King George III of England in
1804
- Treaty between
the British Empire and the Prussian Empire signed
by King George IV in 1824
- Watergate
Inaugural invitation signed by President
Nixon
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"It's not monetary
value that makes this extraordinary," he said
Tuesday. "It's the fact that someone has figured
out a way to share the asset with children."
Lee and the
collection will also be at Waters Elementary School
for one day.
"He lets you hold a
Picasso. It's a unique experience," said Plainview
educator Rob Knight, who first invited Lee to visit
West Texas schools in January 2002.
It's all part of
Lee's effort to give children a glimpse of fine
arts, which he said have be come "a lost discipline
in education today."
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Christian
Thomas Lee shares the famed Christ on The Mount of
Olives
with students during a day of Art in Schools
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A Roman
Invitation, 1728, Hand Colored Manuscript, Pen and
Ink
11 x 15 inches, Marked Roman, Roman Province
Acquired from and Researched by Sotheby's,
London
The Christian Thomas Lee Collection of Fine
Art
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"I think our
children today are being raised in a cultural
Chernobyl," said Lee, a classical guitarist who has
played a number of private concerts in Lubbock.
"Britney Spears, Madonna, the Osbournes - they are
set up as great cultural icons, and I think that's
tragic.
"In our society,
our failure to retain a very strong commitment to
the fine arts is really costing us. My experience
is that, no matter where I go, children are starved
for wholesome culture."
Lee said he asked
to return to Honey Elementary for one week after
visiting the school on Jan. 31, 2002. Students were
introduced to art by Picasso, the oil painting
titled "Christ On The Mount Of Olives" and the
Faberge spoon during that visit.
"He talked to them
about staying in school, being good students,
working hard and staying away from drugs," Honey
music teacher Pam Allison said. "He really just got
their attention."
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Lee said he
considers Honey unique.
"There's a real
family atmosphere and an uncommon commitment from
parents and the community to the school," he said.
"And there's also a depth of commitment from the
teachers and administration that I just quite
haven't seen anywhere else.
"I realize this is
a tall statement to make, and I stand by it
&emdash; Honey Elementary School is the finest
public school I have ever been in, and I've been in
dozens of them."
Allison said Honey
and its Partners in Education raised $5,600 to help
offset the cost of insurance to bring the
historical artifacts, documents and art to the
school. Waters Elementary also provided some
funds.
Dianne Ashby, art
teacher at both Honey and Waters, also helped bring
the collection to Lubbock.
Activities during
the week will include fourth-graders drawing self
portraits using Picasso's cubism technique,
fifth-graders creating their own Faberge eggs and
sixth-graders painting with water colors to study
Impressionism.
Allison said the
public is invited to listen to Lee and view the
collection. "It's a classroom setting; they can
come in and sit and listen," she said. Lee's
attention, however, will be on the students.
"The best thing I
do is the time I spend with children," he said. "I
should not be viewed as an anomaly. Everybody has
something they do that they're good at.
"I would hope I
serve as an example to people that we all need to
identify what our talents and gifts are and figure
out a way to share them with children."
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