Charles Rhyne papers

Charles S. Rhyne was born in Philadelphia in 1932, the second son of the Rev. Dr. S. White and Ruth D. Rhyne. He was a graduate of Central High School, Philadelphia, and Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio. Between high school and college he attended Temple University’s Tyler Art School. As a student he ran track and cross-country and was proud of the fact that his Ohio Conference record for the 880 stood for many years.

He did his graduate work at the University of Chicago, first receiving a master’s degree from the Committee on Social Thought and then switching to art history. He was hired to teach at Reed in 1960 by Rex Arragon [history 1923–62] on the recommendation of his major professor, Joshua Taylor ’39, and taught until his retirement in 1997.

Throughout his career Charles lectured internationally and published widely. He was the recipient of many honors and grants that allowed him to pursue his varied interests and carry them over into his teaching. Among others, he was a Fulbright research fellow at the Courtauld Institute, London; a visiting fellow at the Yale Center for British Art; a Kress senior fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art; and a visiting scholar at the Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Research Institute, and J. Paul Getty Museum. In 2012, he received the American Institute for Conservation’s Special Recognition for Allied Professionals “for his invaluable contributions to art conservation.” Because of his interest in digital information and imaging and sharing through the internet, many of his lectures and publications are available online.

During his career, Charles curated many important exhibitions of visual art on campus and was instrumental in the establishment of the Cooley Gallery. His advocacy for the visual arts on campus resulted in important donations to the Reed College Art Collection.

The conservation of art and architecture was central to his life’s work and his research concerned everything from technical investigations into how masonry deteriorates to broad cultural issues, like the preservation of Native American art. As an example, he explained how the Zuni create ritual figures that are supposed to dissipate their energies back into the environment as they deteriorate. Conserving the figures violates the cycle.

Addressing the issue of preserving Native American totem poles, Charles said, “People think it’s very simple: you either preserve or you don’t. I try to lay out the complexity of things.” A single totem pole, he explained, could present many options, ranging from letting nature take its course to moving the pole to a museum and replacing it with a replica. Should yellow jackets be prevented from nesting in the pole or seedlings be plucked from its cracks? Should it be stabilized, or righted and placed in the same position it was in 19th century photographs? Do you fill in cracks and repaint the pole?

“Each of these choices is an emotionally charged issue,” he concluded, “and the complexity of the situation is immense. It’s not just a matter of preserving or not. It’s how you should preserve it and if you preserve it, whether you display it and how you display it.”

He died on Sunday, April 14, 2013 in Portland, Oregon, as the result of a massive stroke.

Professor Rhyne is survived by his wife, Barbara, their children, Sylvia, David, and Fillard, and their spouses, four grandchildren, his brother, Sidney White Rhyne, and extended family.