Mural inspired by Libraries’ Gallup Collection to be unveiled on Sept. 29

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, Washington State University Libraries will unveil a new mural painted by Jiemei Lin of the WSU Department of Art and inspired by the Gallup Collection of rare fishing books housed in Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC).

The unveiling takes place at 3 p.m. in the Quiet Study Lounge on Terrell Library's first floor. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

Titled "Living Archive," the mural celebrates the rivers, forests, wildlife, and stories that shape the Inland Northwest, according to the proposal by Lin, an assistant professor. It weaves together historical illustrations, native plants and animals, fishing flies, and moments from the region's outdoor heritage. Hidden throughout the composition are small references to books and objects from the Gallup Collection, inviting viewers to discover something new each time they look.

"Like a river, a library is always in motion - growing through the people who explore it, contribute to it, and share it with others," she said. "This mural imagines the Gallup Collection not only as a record of the natural world, but also as part of a living archive, where knowledge, memory, and the landscape continue to shape one another across generations."

Trevor Bond, WSU Libraries' dean, says the mural represents the profound impact that carefully assembled collections can have.

"Vern Gallup loved these books he donated to WSU. He hunted for decades to find particular books and assiduously sought those in the best condition," Bond said. "My hope is that this mural will inspire others to explore the collection and to be inspired."

Lin took special inspiration from the Gallup Collection's books by women. One of those, A Woman Tenderfoot, was written and designed by Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson in 1900 as a guide for women to go outside and camp. It is also a memoir of the author's personal experiences in the rugged wilderness of the American West, particularly focusing on hunting and outdoor life in the Rocky Mountains' Snake River region.

"I combined illustrations from that book with some of our very contemporary, very new memories of the same region," she said. "You can see many girls riding horses, girls fishing, and women camping in the same landscape - with a similar concept and the same amount of excitement. I want to celebrate that fact as well."

Another book, Favorite Flies and Their Histories, a third edition from 1896 written by Mary Orvis Marbury, is a unique volume that compiles the stories and images of popular American artificial flies of the late 19th century and one of the earliest works to use chromolithography color plates.

"You can find multiple fishing flies that I painted on this mural, and they are all from this wonderful book," Lin said.

Lin painted another mural for the WSU Libraries in the summer of 2025, a celebration of sisters Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell that is adjacent to MASC on the Terrell Library ground floor. The "Virginia and Vanessa" mural celebrates the creative lives and lasting influence of two remarkable women in the history of literature and art.