In 1994, Betty and Oliver Elliott donated part of their Boehm (pronounced “beam”) sculpture collection to the Wichita State University Foundation.

This summer, their daughters, Nancy Martin and Carole Lindley, donated the rest. The collection contains nearly 140 pieces, which depict birds, flowers and animals in their natural habitats.

The Elliotts, who helped establish the Elliott School of Communication at WSU, started collecting the pieces in 1977.

“My father always had a love for birds,” Lindley said. “My mother was drawn more to the flowers.”

Martin said her mother was taken with the sculptures’ beauty and took joy in admiring the pieces every day.

“Each new addition to the collection was Mother’s favorite,” Martin said.

Both daughters remember going for walks with their father to look for birds.

“Every family vacation, regardless of locale, included some time looking for birds that were unique to the area,” said Martin.

The sculptures are now on display at WSU’s Woodman Alumni Center, Elliott Hall and the president’s home.

“They mean so much to the president and me because we knew Betty Elliott so well,” said First Lady Shirley Beggs. “We loved and admired her.”

The Elliotts also established scholarships, professorships and faculty funds.

“Their gifts continue to grow,” said Susan Huxman, director of the Elliott School of Communication. “The Elliotts were very generous people.”

Edward Marshall Boehm achieved recognition for his artistic and technical excellence, not only in the United States but widely throughout the world.

His sculptures are on display at the Vatican Museum in Rome, the White House, Buckingham Palace, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Smithsonian Institution. He died of a heart attack in 1969.