The works of Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera reside in a small corner of the Bakersfield College campus.

“Sketch of an Agricultural Mural” by Rivera and an ink sketch by Picasso are hung on the walls of BC President Greg Chamberlain’s office.

These are just two pieces of the BC permanent art collection, valued at over $80,000.

The works of art – including paintings, drawings and sculptures – were acquired in the 1960s by the student body that began purchasing art for BC in 1960 for a permanent art collection. While the student body purchased most of the art, several pieces were donated to BC by the Ford Foundation, including the Diego and Picasso.

The collection started in 1960 when the BC Associated Student Body began purchasing art for the campus with an annual budget of $600.

“What happened, apparently, was that the student body had bought the pictures and they were spending good money on lots of art,” said Jerry Ludeke, director of the BC archives.

Ludeke said after acquiring the art the student body discovered the cost of insurance for the collection was too much for them to afford. “They realized they can’t handle that, so they turned it over to the Kern Community College District to become the owners,” said Ludeke.

While most of the art was placed in storage, former BC President John Collins placed the two most expensive pictures – the Picasso and the Rivera – in the president’s office for safekeeping, said Ludeke.

After the rest of the art was given to the school district, it was stored in the basement below the Financial Aid office until 1987. According to documents from the archives the condition of the art collection is poor due to poor storage practices.

Kathy Rosellini, a BC counselor, said, “I don’t know what happened between the time they purchased it and – let’s say – the 1980s so for about 20 years I don’t know what happened to the artwork.

“I just know that in the late 1980s or early ’90s I was the director of student affairs,” she said. “I was told then that the business manager was trying to locate this art because they wanted to inventory it, see what was there, and then of course get an appraisal.”

While some of the art collection is missing, Ludeke and Rosellini are hoping that the works of art can be found.

“I hope that the students can locate it because it’s their collection and they should know where it is. It should be protected,” said Rosellini.