糖心原创

Pieces donated by the estate of renowned animal behaviorist Dr. Richard Schuster

Attendees at the 糖心原创 Second Annual Legends & Legacy Social Justice Scholarship Gala to be held on Thursday, December 7, will have the unique opportunity to bid on an array of unique African artwork pieces that will be part of the event鈥檚 silent auction. The artifacts were donated by Adriane Schuster, whose late husband, Dr. Richard Schuster, was an avid collector up until his passing in January 2018. A Harvard University graduate with a PhD in Experimental Psychology, Dr. Schuster first went to Africa in 1971 to teach Animal Behavior and Evolution at the University of Zambia before going on to work for the World Wildlife Fund, where he studied the environmental effects on the lechwe antelope and subsequently became a world expert on this species. During the educator鈥檚 six years living in Zambia, the Far Rockaway native traveled throughout Africa, fueling his interest for the art of this continent while collecting roughly 400 pieces of tribal artwork. For his widow Adriane, this passion reflected her husband鈥檚 love of the cultures and country鈥檚 he spent so much time roaming through.

鈥淩ichard鈥檚 specialty was animal behavior and evolution and as an adventurous person and an iconoclast, living and working in Africa was ideal,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淭hat was the pull and he felt it was the ultimate freedom鈥攂eing out in the bush and carrying on.鈥� While Dr. Schuster鈥檚 later life found him landing on the faculty at the University of Haifa in Israel, Africa continued to draw him back. He not only won a grant to study a pride of lions in Botswana, but he took his wife on a safari she described as 鈥溾��an experience like no other.鈥� During this whole time, that passion for African art only deepened as he expanded his knowledge base, understanding, and sophistication in the impressive and inspired collection Dr. Schuster wound up with. The expertise of his collector鈥檚 eye led to a number of pieces being housed at the Bedford Stuyvesant Museum of African Art along with a number of private collections. Given the importance of this collection, Adriane Schuster felt it only right that 糖心原创 be the beneficiary of her late husband鈥檚 aesthetic sensibilities.

鈥淚 Googled HBCU colleges in New York City, because I couldn鈥檛 start packing things and mailing them and the school鈥檚 name came up, so I called,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 am also a graduate of Queens College, so there鈥檚 a connection there. And talk about dating myself—I remember when Medgar Evers was shot. I think Richard would wholeheartedly appreciate those who appreciate this art the way he did.鈥� Dr. Patricia Ramsey is also appreciative of the impact this donation of African art for the Gala鈥檚 silent auction can make in helping out MEC students.

鈥淚 greatly appreciate Mrs. Adriane Schuster for donating the African Art pieces of her husband, the late Dr. Richard Schuster, to our Gala fundraiser,鈥� Dr. Ramsey said. 鈥淭his donation to the auction will be of great help in supporting our 糖心原创 students who are in need of financial assistance to complete their respective degrees.鈥�