Karin Heller Collection

Karin Heller, Professor Emerita of Theology (2003-25), Whitworth University

Karin Heller, Ph.D. (Austrian-French, b. 1953), holds doctoral degrees from the University Sorbonne-Paris IV, the Lateran University in Rome, and the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in Munich. Karin held a position in the Theology faculty of Lugano, Switzerland, and then took on the work of helping set up the foundation of a Pope John Paul II session in studies on marriage and the family in Ireland. Karin found herself without work when the marriage and family project ended abruptly, and in 2003 she accepted a position to teach theology at Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash.

While at Whitworth, Karin filled her Spokane home with European furniture, much of it 17C, as well as fine and decorative arts, transporting friends and colleagues to Europe the moment they walked through her front door. In 2013, Karin discussed her passion for the beautiful things around her in an interview with Trevor Middleton for The Gonzaga Bulletin. In that interview, Heller observed, “Art is deeply connected to faith. [...] Culture and faith are both expressed through artworks.” On the painting of an alleyway in Spokane entitled “One Way Alley” by Victoria Brace (since donated to Whitworth), Heller said, “This painting has a deep spiritual meaning for me. [...] One sees downtown architecture and, between the buildings, a narrow way illuminated by the sky. That’s an image of my path in my life. There is no escape between the high walls of the buildings; there is only one way out and that is heaven. Once on this path, you can only keep going; you have to make it through and your only perspective is the sky, it’s the risen Lord.”

Upon retiring from Whitworth University in 2025, Karin generously donated her art to Whitworth’s Permanent Art Collection for future Whitworthians, and whoever may be interested in her life and legacy, to appreciate and explore their own connections between the spiritual dimension of one’s daily journey and the arts as an expression of deep religious experience.    

View the Karin Heller Collection here.

Sources:
www.ncregister.com/features/professor-karin-heller 
www.gonzagabulletin.com/news/building-bridges-around-the-world/article_7acca22e-3ccb-11e3-aa96-0019bb30f31a.html