Parents donate to refurbish art classroom and inspire young artists
L-R: Melissa ’19, John, Chris, Billy ’22
During the 2016 Parents’ Group Annual Auction, attendees were given the opportunity to “raise their auction paddle” to support the renovation of an Upper School classroom. The Price family raised theirs for a $5,000 gift to cover the cost of renovating the art classroom.
Chris and John, parents of Melissa, grade 10, and Billy, grade 7, are passionate about art and saw the need to improve this space. The gift, from Chris’ family foundation, the LeCompte Family Foundation, was used to tear down a wall adding classroom space, installing new storage closets for art supplies, new flooring, paint and lights, and purchasing new furniture.
Why the art classroom? Chris was born into an artistic family. Her father, Bob LeCompte, is a modest artist himself. He received inspiration from his artistic parents, but the most influential person in Bob’s life was his Uncle, Rowan LeCompte. Bob turned to his Uncle Rowan for support, guidance and a father figure after his own father had passed away. Rowan, a passionate, talented and extremely sought out stained glass artist, is best known for his work located in the Washington National Cathedral where he designed more than 40 of the cathedral’s windows. The largest and most spectacular, the “Creation” rose window, sits above the western entrance facing Wisconsin Avenue NW. When the circular window was dedicated in 1976, Washington Post architecture critic Wolf Von Eckardt hailed it as “surely one of the masterpieces of Christendom.”
The “Creation” rose window at the Washington National Cathedral, by Rowan LeCompte. Photo by Kevin Borland on Flickr.
The LeCompte and Price family want art to be a part of the “fundamental education” for students at Admiral Farragut Academy.
“We were so excited and impressed with Farragut that we sold our home and moved to the St. Pete area,” said Chris, who is also involved on the Parents’ Group.
“When I first saw the art room, I thought to myself, this could be a great place for students to be inspired in, whether they are artistically inclined or not.”
Thank you to the LeCompte Family Foundation for creating that kind of place.
