Hillsdale’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom has acquired a collection of rare portraits and sculptures of American founding figures, including the most expensive portrait of Abraham Lincoln ever sold.
The college obtained the collection, announced Jan. 28, via a purchase and gift annuity arrangement with Shane Newell.
“It is uniquely satisfying for an art collector to see his carefully curated collection remain intact rather than be sold at auction,” Newell told The Collegian in an email. “The sale to Hillsdale and matching Charitable Gift Annuity allowed me to support the college I believe is most important to our country, while ensuring my lifelong pursuit of American portrait art remains assembled.”
The college acquired the Blake Center, located in Sommers, Connecticut, in 2019 and opened the center in 2020. Named after its donors Prestley and Helen Blake, the Blake Center property includes 100 acres of land and a replica of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.
“Shane Newell in particular has spent a good part of his adult life amassing a collection of American art,” Alan Crippen, Blake Center executive director and chaplain told The Collegian. “He came to envision his art hanging in Monticello, which makes a lot of sense.”
Crippen, who took the helm of the center in 2025, said the art has been on display in the Blake Center for years, but is now entering into the college’s permanent collection.
The art collection contains George Henry Story’s last portrait of Abraham Lincoln — the most valuable portrait of Lincoln ever sold, and the only one in a private collection. Story’s other works of Lincoln are displayed in the Oval Office, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.
Story, an artist from Connecticut born in 1835, built a studio in Washington, D.C. and became a friend of Lincoln. As a 26-year-old, Story was invited to draw sketches of Lincoln as he went about his daily life. Then, on a visit to Washington, D.C. in 1916, Story noticed the lack of paintings of Lincoln in the city and began painting portraits of Lincoln, earning the name “the man that painted Lincoln.”
In 1918, art dealer Charles Duveen commissioned Story to paint the portrait of Lincoln that became Story’s magnum opus and the most expensive painting of Lincoln ever sold.
The 13-piece collection features several sculptures and busts of America’s Founding Founders, as well as original paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries. The paintings range from historical to modern in style and include depictions of Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and George Washington, as well as men including Jonathan Trumbull and Dr. Joseph Warren.
“This collection is a New England treasure and magnificent addition to the college’s art holdings,” Crippen said in the press release. “We are thrilled to have it on display.”
Crippen said the patriotic collection adds depth to the Blake Center’s main rooms, where the college hosts lecture series promoting faith and freedom throughout the year.
“Jefferson assembled an art collection at Monticello that expressed the highest ideals of mankind,” an intro to the exhibit reads. “In his view, great works of art had the power to inspire and uplift the human spirit, fostering a sense of unity and shared identity among people. Jefferson’s love of art and sculpture was also a reflection of his broader vision for America as a nation. Jefferson’s American Art Collection played a vital role in shaping the cultural identity of the young republic.”
This year, the center is hosting the “America at 250” lecture series, which features 12 lecture series from various Hillsdale and visiting professors on topics celebrating elements of the American founding.
Crippen said the collection will bolster the center’s dedication to American values and freedoms, and will enhance visitors’ experience of the Blake Center.
“The collection belongs there. It really finishes the building in a way that is affirming of the college’s values,” Crippen told The Collegian. “And it’s all happening, which is serendipitous, in the first month of the 250th anniversary of American independence. It’s another way for all of us — from college friends to college alumni — to celebrate this great country.”
