An alumnus and local attorney, Edward Sullivan Vail (1819–1889), a graduate from the class of 1839, is listed in University publications as "Collector of Portraits for Kirkpatrick Chapel", after spearheading the effort to collecting over sixty paintings portraying Rutgers presidents, prominent trustees, professors and the chapel's namesake, Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick.Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey — Kirkpatrick Chapel. Portraits in Kirkpatrick . Retrieved September 2, 2013. Kirkpatrick, whose portrait was painted by an American artist named G. Bruecke, is the only woman among the collection. The earliest portraits date to the eighteenth century.
