“The Graduate”, one of the late Arthur Rose’s most ambitious sculptures, is to be presented on permanent loan to Claflin University by the artist’s widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Rose. The impressive steel work was given the name “The Graduate” by Rose who created the piece for a college campus wanting students to be inspired and to strive to replicate the abstract figure lifting up a university degree.

As sometimes is the case with artistic pieces, there was an element of irony. So it was with “The Graduate.” Rose began working on the sculpture in 1974 according to Winston Wingo, a Claflin art graduate, who himself became a highly respected sculptor after studying with Rose. However, due to a lack of financial support the sculpture was put aside by the artist only to be uncovered years later. Rose’s son, the Reverend Arthur Rose, Jr. found the piece after his father’s death in a building behind his parent’s home where Rose frequently worked.

Rev. Rose became instrumental in securing the assistance of Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College’s welding department to construct the frame to support the work. As a result, the imposing sculpture now has a supporting frame and base. Over 30 years later, “The Graduate” has found a home on the lawn in front of the Arthur Rose Museum.

Batik artist Dr.  Leo Twiggs, also one of Rose’s students and a Claflin art graduate who has viewed the sculpture commented, “If you look closely you can see a proud student holding a diploma to one side as if to take a photograph.” Dr. Twiggs, who is Distinguished Artist-in- Residence at his alma mater, described the piece as “done in steel and painted black to contrast with the Terra Cotta colored brick of the museum.”                                     

The Rose sculpture will be officially presented to the University on Thursday, November 15^th at 4pm in a ceremony on Legacy Plaza in front of the Arthur Rose Museum. The public is invited to attend both the event and the reception to follow.

Rose who was known, beloved and is still remembered for the constant encouragement he gave his students often repeated his motto: "Never let hard work or criticism impair your progress. Take them as a challenge and master your dreams."  His motto lives on through his former students and through “The Graduate” which will be an ever present source of inspiration for students at Claflin University.