West given art from estate of former dean

       West Middle School has accepted six lithographs from the collection of the late Myrtle Telleen Collins, who was dean of girls at West from 1959 to 1962.
       The prints, by Brazilian artist Graciela Rodo-Boulanger, reflect Collins' life as a world-traveling teacher, writer and art collector, according to Beverly Diehl, who knew Collins through their educational sorority, the Eta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.
       The chapter presented the prints to the West Building Accountability Advisory Committee at a brief ceremony in the school library Jan. 26. The prints will hang in the Warrior Room, a conference room at the school, according to school librarian Michael Barentine.
       The estimated value of the prints is about $2,400, he said.
       Collins lived from 1915 to 2003. According to a write-up by Diehl, Collins and her husband, DWane, co-authored seven educational books (including one titled “Survival Kit for Students”). Both taught in secondary schools and in colleges.
       After leaving West, she went to Laos, serving as principal of the American School in Vientiane from 1967 to 1974.
       Other places the Collinses worked included New York City, Brazil and Hawaii.
       “For those of you who didn't have the opportunity to know her, you really missed someone!” Diehl wrote. “She always saw broader horizons than most of us (and) recognized few limitations for youth or for herself… She was a spark plug, a gracious lady, full of ethics and hope, and the best peanut brittle maker I ever knew.”

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