Couple's collection overflows home's confines
One Butler Township couple has 337 pieces of artwork adorning the walls of their home, plus about 250 more prints and other art that won’t fit and needs to be kept in storage.
Rue Snider, 71, and his wife, Marianne Snider, began collecting nearly 25 years ago when Rue brought home a unique aluminum piece from the 1930s.
About 10 years ago, when the Sniders were well on their way toward collecting more than 1,000 pieces of metal artwork, Rue realized there were often posters and paintings that were given away, thrown out, or sold at fractions of their actual value at flea markets and thrift shops. That’s when the couple began building their impressive collection of prints.
“I’ve developed an eye for art and for interesting pieces,” Snider said. “If I saw something and I liked it, I bought it.”
He doesn’t purchase items for their potential monetary value, rather Snider looks for visually interesting pieces, which often has a story.
His collection includes cartoons by Cyrus “Cy” Hungerford, a political cartoonist for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Pittsburgh Sun; prints by Alberto Vargas, whose art appeared in Playboy; and artist proofs by Frederic Remington that date to the early 1900s. Plus, the Sniders support local artists such as Gertrude Nolan and Pat McCarren.
For Snider, it’s never been about having expensive artwork. In college, Snider would hang newspaper pages featuring artwork on his walls, just to brighten up the room.
In his home, he used to dread walking through his living room because its bamboo printed wallpaper was so “ugly.” Since then, the walls have been painted and display several of his favorite prints.
While the collecting process has slowed in recent years, just last month, Snider brought home a new addition. However, he had to bring it through the back door to keep it out of Marianne’s sight. Much of the metal artwork that began his collecting is kept in boxes now, but the prints still hang in every room of the house, and the ones in storage are rotated out to have their turn.
“It just difficult when they (sellers) don’t want hardly any money for a piece and they don’t appreciate it,” Snider said about the recent pieces he’s bought.
He said at one point, he purchased a print for $10 after its owner placed it at the end of the driveway because it didn’t match their interior walls. Later it was valued at $600.
Marianne Snider said while her husband does have to sneak some new prints into the house, she enjoys the art, as well.
When they had an art sale last summer, she kept telling Rue, “You can’t sell this one; you can’t sell that one,” even though it was the first time she was seeing some of the prints.
Rue says that Marianne has an eye for art, too. She takes photos, one of which is framed and hung among other artwork.
Next year, the couple will take 150 to 200 pieces from their collection to an art auction that will benefit the Community Health Clinic. Rue Snider hopes the prints end up with someone who will appreciate them.
The Sniders were on an episode of PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow” in August 2014 in New York City when their daughter, Julia Snider, surprised Rue with VIP passes.
“It was one of those opportunities that fell in my lap, and I knew it’d be perfect for him. I knew he’d be over the moon,” Julia said. “And I’m always looking for ways to make him smile.”
The passes allowed the Sniders to bring four items to be appraised. Perhaps the most difficult part for Rue was deciding what items to bring. But he eventually decided on: a print titled “The Sound of One Hand Clapping,” which was valued at $500; a set of bird prints from the 1800s by James Ellsworth Dekay, which was valued at $4,500 to $7,500; a group of modern prints, which was valued at $800; and a calendar by Milton Glaser, a renowned commercial artist, which was valued at $700 as a calendar or $2,400 to $4,800 for each print.
The couple later appeared on another “Antiques Roadshow” in 2015 at Cleveland.
