Westmont Magazine Good Artistic Impulses
By Connie Gundry Tappy ’80
When MARIE MAY FORDE ’55 graduated from Westmont and began teaching elementary school, she gave little thought to collecting art. But after marrying Arnold Forde and moving with him to Orange County, the couple began that pursuit. Over the last decade, Marie and Arnold donated many valuable works to the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, and they lent items from their personal collection to a number of the museum’s exhibitions.
One of those events, Impulse and Connoisseurship: Selections from the Forde Collection, included works by 29 artists from 1980-2000, such as John Baldessari, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Chris Burden and Jenny Holzer. “This exhibition not only featured many well-respected contemporary artists but also showcased the incredible knowledge about contemporary art that Mrs. Forde cultivated after she graduated from Westmont,” says Judy Larson, R. Anthony Askew professor of art history and director of the Westmont Ridley-Tree museum.
Focused on cutting-edge, contemporary art, Marie and Arnold started collecting seriously during a trip to New York City with Paul Schimmel, curator at the Newport Harbor Art Museum. They especially enjoyed “meeting and getting to know artists whose works we’ve collected,” Marie says. They also appreciated getting to know the faculty and student artists at Westmont today, as well as members of the college’s Art Council. Marie graciously hosted this group during a weekend visit to their home in Laguna Beach. “I was thrilled when I heard about the Westmont Ridley-Tree museum,” she says. “It was wonderful to meet the members of Westmont’s Art Council and to realize how the importance of art has expanded since I was a student at the college.”
Mona Motte Wilds, a UC Santa Barbara graduate with a minor in art history and retired director of gift planning at Westmont, has visited the Fordes’ home. “I immediately recognized the depth and quality of the works in their collection,” she says.
“The Fordes’ tastes and interests in art are sophisticated, passionate and intrepid,” Larson says. Witness the 5,000-pound “Bulldozer” by the late conceptual artist Chris Burden dominating their entry hall, plus his “Lotus” — a 1973 Lotus Europa — parked in their living room. When Larson asked Marie how they decided which artists to collect, she quickly replied, “We worked on impulse. When we saw a work of art, we knew almost immediately whether we wanted to purchase it!”
“I experienced amazement and pleasure when I saw the professionalism and sensitivity of Judy Larson and Chris Rupp at the exhibition of our art at the Westmont Ridley-Tree museum,” Marie says. “And Mona has been so kind to keep me up to date.” Marie and Arnold stopped collecting art in 2000, and Arnold, a pioneering political consultant who helped found Butcher Forde Consulting, BFC Direct Marketing and Forde and Mollrich, died in 2018.
“Westmont is incredibly fortunate that the Fordes have shared their great treasures with our students and the larger Santa Barbara community through the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art,” says Larson. “I pray for God’s richest blessings on Westmont!” Marie says. Her activities beyond the college and the art world include serving for many years as a volunteer for World Vision, and her passion for social causes includes many that help Palestinians.