William and Mary Alumni Magazine | Winter 2007/2008, Vol. 73, No. 2
Photo by Steven Biver
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A group of third graders giggle as they walk into the sculpture gallery. Eventually one of them asks, "Why aren't those statues wearing any clothes?" For Patty Owens, this is just one of the many questions she's had to answer during her 34 years as a docent for the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. Perhaps it is better than one some patrons ask, "What is the most important painting in the world?" Try answering that question.
Owens majored in art history while at the College and has taken that interest with her throughout life, as she raised her two children, Carroll M.B.A. '92 and Catherine '90, and spent many hours volunteering. Until four years ago, she led tours of the museum for school children, but now she focuses on public and special appointment tours and, of course, tours for her grandchildren's classes.
"You couldn't ask for a better docent than Patty Owens -- she's knowledgeable, gracious and dedicated," says Will Scott, head of adult programs at the National Gallery. "She's just a perfect docent." Scott shared the following comment from a Gallery visitor in spring 2007: "The charm and grace of a veteran docent ... made us believe in the wonder of art publicly displayed."
Her interest in art goes beyond the role of educator; she is also a collector. She and her husband, Carroll Owens '62, whom she met at William and Mary, have loaned 10 works to the Muscarelle Museum of Art from 19th- and early 20th-century American artists such as Thomas Cole, John Sloan and Robert Henri.
"There is an exciting future for the College in the arts," says Aaron De Groft '88, director of the Muscarelle Museum, "and Patty Owens is a very important component in the impending success."
Owens was instrumental in helping save the Muscarelle from being closed in 1997. She served on the first board formed by then-director of the museum, Bonnie Kelm, in 2000, and continues to serve on the board today. Owens also helped to improve the docent program at the Muscarelle and attends many of the special events there.
Her own experience as a docent enabled her to advise the Muscarelle. The docent program at the National Gallery involves an intense training process. Owens' interest in becoming a docent began many years ago on a tour of the Gallery with her son's fourth-grade class. She joined the American Association of University Women and trained for a year -- it is now a two-year training process at the Gallery. The training doesn't stop once you become a docent either. "We are always preparing for new tours," says Owens.
"It's a very structured and disciplined environment." And she has to deal with all kinds of people. The children offer some interesting comments, but so do the adults. "A lot of them don't understand 20th-century art and make comments like 'My 2-year-old could paint that Jackson Pollock.'"
The National Gallery isn't the only place she's given tours. Owens also has led groups through Olde Towne Alexandria and Virginia plantations. Owens seems a natural public speaker in front of her audience but she claims, "It's easier talking to people you have never met before. I was invited to be a guest speaker at a Lower Northern Neck alumni gathering and that was much more stressful than giving a tour."
Wherever Owens volunteers she leaves a mark. Whether it's at a museum, her church or with her children's school she always serves with a positive attitude. "Patty has spread her good-humored approach to service to so many others that it is hard to count the ripple effect," says classmate Virginia Stuart Richardson Dopp '62.
Owens has fond memories of her time at the College, as a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She loved steak night at Thiemes when the big sisters would take their littles to dinner. She can also remember Carroll sitting outside her Landrum basement dorm window chatting past curfew with her and her friends until the wee hours. Although the Muscarelle was not around when she was a student, she hopes to see it here well into the future.
"One of the things that makes life worth living is the arts," says Owens. "When people look at works of art they forget about the outside world and rise above the chaos."
Linda Beerbower Burke '70 | Randall S. Hawthorne '67, J.D. '70, M.L.T. '71
Suzann Wilson Matthews '71 | Patrisia Bayliss Owens '62
A complete listing of Owens' professional, civic and College involvement
