City University's Run Run Shaw Library has received a donation of more than 100 valuable titles covering a wide variety of Western art. The mostly rare, out-of-print editions were donated by Donald Stone, Professor of English at City University of New York. The books will be on display in the Library until January 17.

The collection features a number of published works about celebrated artists, such as Van Gogh, Seurat, Pissarro and Paul Klee, as well as publications by renowned art galleries and museums around the world.

A visiting professor in the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics (CTL) in 2001, Professor Stone is an art historian who has built up his collection of art books since his college days. He has an in-depth knowledge of Western art, painting and architecture, as well as Chinese civilization. When he visited CTL, he delivered a series of lectures on the impact of Chinese culture on European art and also developed links with CityU's Library.

"Professor Stone is a connoisseur of Western art. Many titles in his collection are valuable out-of-print editions," said Professor Zhang Longxi, Chair Professor of Comparative Literature and Translation in CTL and Director of the Centre for Cross-Cultural Studies, at the donation ceremony held on 12 December 2002. "Now, near his retirement age, he would like our Library to be the new home of his collection. The donation will provide excellent reference materials for our students, faculty, and staff when they do research on Western arts and culture." Professor Zhang, himself a lover of both Oriental and Western arts, facilitated the donation.

Among the collection's highlights are 25 titles from the Skira Taste of Our Time series, which Professor Stone began collecting in the 1950s. He will continue to donate books from the Skira series over the next few years. "While I was putting together the collection, many memories came flooding back. I'm very pleased to find a home for these treasured items," said Ms Peggy Fung, CityU's Assistant Librarian of Acquisitions. "We full-heartedly welcome this new addition. We have few books on art, because we don't have an arts school. This donation will definitely enrich our Library's Western art holdings."

Books that will be of help to CityU's research and teaching are most welcome, according to Ms Fung. "We will also be pleased to consider books of more general interest," she added. For those who may want to offer their own collections for donation to the University, the Library has set up a dedicated telephone number: (852) 2194-2252.