Albert Einstein taught himself the violin and would play duets with Max Planck, fellow Nobel Prize winner and the “Father of Quantum Theory,” on piano. Marie Curie rode her bicycle to clear her mind and relax. And Erwin Schrodinger  – of Schrodinger’s cat fame – crafted dollhouse furniture.

Outside the Lab highlights our faculty’s non-academic pastimes that help keep them focused through creative pursuits.

Tim Kral has a consuming passion for fine art – and a tour of his home proves it.

There are more than 90 pieces on display, including several numbered lithographs by modern masters. He also has an extensive sculpture collection, ranging from whales to frogs and dragons. More art is stuffed away in closets.

“This is an Alexander Calder lithograph. Of course he’s more famous for his mobiles,” Kral explains as he steps into a room just off the foyer that features 18 lithographs and paintings. “Another Picasso here. An example of his Cubism.”

Kral, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, joined the University of Arkansas faculty in 1981 and began collecting art shortly thereafter. In 2009, he received the Charles and nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award — the University of Arkansas’ most prestigious teaching award.

“Some of these you find in estate sales,” he says of his collection. “I buy things because I like them. It is great if they are originals, rather than reproductions.”

Tim Kral poses with an original piece by Arkansas artist Pat Musick. | Russell Cothren, University of Arkansas

Tim Kral poses with an original piece by Arkansas artist Pat Musick. | Russell Cothren, University of Arkansas

He enjoyed going to museums growing up in Cleveland but he never considered building an art collection. That changed in the mid-1980s when he bought a sculpture in Eureka Springs and started collecting from one artist.

“Then I went to a conference in Las Vegas in the late ’80s and I went into an art gallery,” Kral said. “I’ve always liked Salvador Dali. In the front they had some pieces that were reminiscent of Dali. In the back they had a sale going on. They had signed lithographs by the modern masters: Dali, Marc Chagall, Picasso, Calder, Joan Miro. I bought one of each. I had no idea that you could get a signed, numbered lithograph from a major artist at a very reasonable price. I was in shock.”

He calls his collection “eclectic.” There are pieces from Victor Vasarely, the father of optical art, and a contemporary artist known only by her first name: Patricia. He has more art in his U of A office, including three by Carey Huckaby, an artistic savant who can create a realistic scene upon request within five minutes – using only spray paint.

Portions of his collections have been on exhibit in the U of A’s Fine Arts Gallery and Mullins Library.

“I have no artistic ability whatsoever,” he said. “I can’t do it – at least I haven’t tried. But I love art.”