In 1953 Doug Houchens was appointed as Davidson College’s first full-time art professor. When Houchens arrived, the Davidson College Permanent Art Collection was little more than a set of etchings by Louis Orr. When he retired twenty-five years later, Davidson was well on its way to assembling a notable collection. Houchens broadened the scope of exhibitions and, in the process, created a more contemporary dialogue—vital steps for the continued development of the visual arts program at Davidson and recognition in the art world. 

Houchens joined The Fine Arts Committee upon his arrival at Davidson, and under his guidance the next fourteen Fine Arts Festivals were successful in creating “a more sensitive awareness and a deeper appreciation of the place of art in our contemporary society.” Houchens and the Committee understood that in order to create this ‘sensitive awareness’ and to instill a higher level of visual literacy in the student body, more than just transient art exhibitions were required. Only one year after Houchens’ arrival on campus, he and the committee were hard at work seeking funds to purchase work for a collection. In 1954 the committee sent a letter to President Cunningham that outlined:

... a plan to allot a portion of each year’s budget to the purchase of a work or the commissioning of a new work of art… The publicity value of such an event is obvious. But the greatest value would be to those in the college who would come to appreciate a beautiful piece of art by seeing it often. We feel that our temporary exhibitions, as worthwhile as they have been and will continue to be, cannot take the place of art objects with which one can become really familiar. [We are] sure that either the library or the college union, or perhaps other buildings, would provide suitable space for the permanent display of the objects …

While his first request for funding was turned down, Houchens was not deterred from his belief that a collection of art was essential to the pedagogical mission of Davidson College. Without direct funding, Houchens resorted to a “scrimp and save” plan for acquisitions. Each year he was thrifty enough to have a little money left over in his budget to buy a work or two for Davidson’s growing Permanent Art Collection.

In 1963, a sum of two hundred dollars was finally added to Houchens’ budget. Houchens was able to save another three hundred dollars from his existing budget, but even with the extra money, he realized that a noteworthy painting or sculpture was out of reach. Acting on his philosophy that “a good drawing is better than a mediocre painting,” Houchens purchased Lovis Corinth’s, Study for Portrait of Admiral Alfred Von Tirpitz, 1917 for the Permanent Art Collection. This turned out to be one of his most important acquisitions. Houchens’ efforts laid the foundation for a collection of art and an exhibitions program that would thrive in the early 1970s under the guidance of a young artist and Davidson alumnus, Herb Jackson.