24 ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT: LANG COLLECTION/EXCAVATING THE IMAGE IN 2014, SCMA RECEIVED AN IMPORTANT GIFT of 1,446 prints and drawings from the collection of Gladys Engel Lang and Kurt Lang, emeriti professors of sociology at the University of Washington, Seattle. The core of the collection is focused on prints by (but not limited to) British and American artists active from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century, and is tied closely to the material discussed in their co-authored book Etched In Memory: The Building and Survival of Artistic Reputation (1990). The book explores the reasons that some artists are remembered and others are not, using examples of artists active in the English and American etching revival (1860s-1890s) as case studies. Strengths of the collection also include the Langs’ other scholarly interests, including “forgotten” women artists, and the effects of urbanization and politics on artistic imagery and production, extending from the 1850s through the 1940s. A group of interested faculty from disciplines including art, art history, English, psychology, German, sociology and American studies convened in the Cunningham Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings and Photographs to be introduced to the body of artwork and converse with Kurt Lang about the formation of the collection. They also brainstormed thematic installation ideas useful for teaching and research and various ways they and their students can engage deeply with this collection. TOP TO BOTTOM: Participants in the Lang Collection Think Tank, including Kurt Lang (center) and curator Aprile Gallant (bottom) ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT LANG COLLECTION FACULTY THINK TANK