Rembrandt etching was found in WLPL archives. But where did it come from?

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As she worked to rifle through the archives in the West Lafayette Public Library's basement in 2008, Mary Barford wasn't finding anything particularly interesting.

Assigned to the library's art collection, Barford's work of sorting through the donated paintings was all part of a course she was taking at Purdue University in the pursuit of her doctoral degree in history.

"All of these paintings that were in the basement had been donated over the years and hadn't been catalogued or anything," Barford said. "They were all neat paintings, but it was just a lot of scenes of flowers and portraits and things like that, nothing really super interesting."

But as she worked to look through what had long gone untouched, Barford said Nick Schenkel, former director of the library, told her he might have something more interesting than those paintings for her to catalogue.

"I remember standing there with him and Nick said, 'Oh, I think I have a Rembrandt upstairs in my office,'" Barford recalled. "I laughed and we both stood there for a second, and his expression hadn't changed. He was like, 'No, I'm serious.'"

Barford said she followed him upstairs to his office, filled with papers and books, to a file cabinet. As Schenkel opened the drawer to begin shuffling things around, Barford said he pulled out a manila envelope.

Tucked inside was a postcard-size etching. It was a second edition Rembrandt etching dated to the mid-1600s.

But where did it come from?

Generous donation turned mystery

Schenkel said he remembers the day he pulled the Rembrandt from that cabinet drawer, but that wasn't the first time it had surfaced.

When the WLPL moved to its current location in 2004, Schenkel said many things were shuffled from the former building. He can't put his finger on when exactly the Rembrandt etching was discovered, but he said it was sometime shortly after the big move into the new building.

"Someone brought it to me in my office. I didn't know what it was because I wasn't a Rembrandt specialist, but it looked like something special," Schenkel recalled. "It was just something that had a sense about it that this was certainly a well-crafted, well-produced piece."

The etching, a second state-print by Rembrandt himself, is dated to sometime shortly after 1635 and titled "The Stoning of St. Stephen," portraying the graphic death of the young deacon outside of the city of Jerusalem.

Non-monetary donations to libraries are not uncommon, Schenkel said. The WLPL has received many donations of books and related creative materials over the years.

But donations, especially works of art, typically have a donor's name attached. The Rembrandt etching, slipped inside an inconspicuous manila envelope, was anonymous.

"We don't know where it came from," Schenkel said. "We are lucky to receive so many donations of books and book-related items from the general public that it doesn't surprise me that something like this would show up."

Marra Honeywell, the library's director, said that when she was welcomed aboard as the library's new director in 2023, Schenkel made sure to mention to her that the WLPL had a Rembrandt in its possession.

Although Honeywell said she was amazed by the etching's existence, she wasn't entirely surprised, either, that something like this would be given to the library.

"Based on the paperwork that was attached with it in the envelope, we know who it was purchased from in London, which we have contacted him, but we have no evidence of where it came from," Honeywell said. "Rest assured, it was someone who loved Old Masters and loved their library. Looking at its story, this seems like a very West Lafayette kind of thing to happen."

It's the 'real deal'

"Welcome to the world's smallest freight elevator," Kirstin Gotway, Luce curator for Purdue University Galleries, jokes as she makes her way through the corridors of Harrison Hall, along the far west edge of Purdue's campus, to the residence hall's basement.

Behind a large door with an even larger security system, Purdue Galleries stores much of its collections in a large room in Harrison Hall's basement. The room is lined with large metal filing cabinets all filled with catalogued collections featuring famous artists of the likes of Rembrandt.

Positioned directly above this vast university archive, Gotway said, are the Harrison Hall laundry facilities.

"This had originally been a storehouse for federal records, so at least it's secure," Gotway said. "Although being right under a laundry facility is not ideal for the storage of artwork."

But inside the Purdue Galleries catalogues sits the WLPL's Rembrandt etching, still neatly framed from when it was discovered in 2008.

Honeywell said the library decided to loan the piece to Purdue Galleries after recognizing that it didn't fit with any of the current collections the library has on display.

"Libraries are all about discovery, curiosity and exploration, so finding something like this in our library just fits with how I feel about libraries in general," Honeywell said. "By loaning it to Purdue, it is a wonderful place for even more people to be able to access it in our community. I love having art in the library's space, and I want to ensure we can show off the things that really matter. While it doesn't really fit in our collections here, it certainly does at Purdue, and that gives students the opportunity to study it, too."

One of the more remarkable things about the Rembrandt etching, Gotway said, was the condition in which it was found. Despite the fact it had been lying loosely in a manila envelope for an unknown number of years, its condition is "pristine."

"It's in amazing condition for a print," Gotway said. "When you think about the age of it, it's several centuries old, and it's really beautifully done. It is obvious, though, that it has been well cared for."

Gotway said that although some may scoff at the idea of the etching being a reprint, Rembrandt's "Stoning of St. Stephen" has five known "states," or printing editions. Alongside the WLPL's Rembrandt etching, Purdue Galleries also has its own Rembrandt etching.

Although the authenticity of Purdue Galleries' etching has been contested, the WLPL's has not. It's the real deal.

But despite the etching's authenticity, Gotway said it is still unclear of who last possessed the piece before its surfacing in the WLPL.

"We know that the dealer, Christopher Mendes in London, sold the artwork at some time, but it does not have a date as to when he sold it and it does not have any information as to who he sold it to," Gotway said. "I contacted him, as well as Marra did, and unfortunately there seems to be a gap that somebody purchased it at some point and then it just showed up apparently in the library's donation box."

Gotway said she was able to offer Honeywell some local leads to try to find the donor, but all came up short, leaving the nearly 400-year-old origins a mystery.

Where does it belong?

Barford remembers spending much of her 2008 semester researching the Rembrandt etching, sourcing a $200 grant to have the etching professionally framed and working to find out how much the piece is worth.

While the price point of the piece varies depending on the etching's print state, condition and authenticity, Barford said she is proud of her work on the project.

As a single mom working toward her doctoral degree, Barford said she remembers bringing her two daughters, both around preschool age in 2008, to the reception the WLPL held for the Rembrandt etching's unveiling on Dec. 12, 2008.

Barford said she can recall that same pride in the times she brought friends and colleagues to the WLPL to see the piece, retelling the story of how it was found and ultimately framed on the wall.

But then, Barford said she never heard anything more about the etching.

Schenkel said the etching was eventually taken down and stored, as scenery changed and construction came and went. Throughout the years, Schenkel said the library had the etching stored safely in its archives, but it was never taken back out for the public to see.

There were brief conversations with WLPL board members about selling the piece, Schenkel said, knowing the Rembrandt etching had some monetary value to it. But how would the proceeds be used?

"We didn't want to just put it in the general fund," Schenkel said. "We knew that if we sold it, it ought to be some kind of special project or collection it went toward."

Those conversations were ultimately shelved.

Honeywell said that when she came aboard as director for the WLPL, she knew a piece like this was donated with the intention of it being locally appreciated, which wasn't happening while it was sitting in storage.

The piece is on an indefinite loan with Purdue Galleries, Honeywell said, and the WLPL isn't in a hurry to make a final decision on its future.

"Our priority with it is to acknowledge that we have this unique and fascinating part of not only our community history, but world history," Honeywell said. "It needs to be in a place where it can be appreciated, however that looks for the library."

The Rembrandt etching's story is one that continues to fascinate Schenkel, but it is one that he said he believes begs a bigger question: How should a community display art such as this?

"It's not really the library's purpose to have an art collection, but this is just a wonderful example of the generosity of a community member. ... To think that they thought so highly of their public library to donate a piece of art like this is really cool," Schenkel said. "But what's even more amazing is that we could reach out to local experts and have the tools to utilize through Purdue to help us better understand what this is. This is just a really great story of community, one that I hope will continue to be nurtured for years to come."

Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal and Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Rembrandt etching was found in WLPL archives. But where did it come from?