Art for the Wrong Reason: Paintings by PoetsAugust 3, 2026(This essay originally appeared in The New Journal in December 2004.) Upon his death in 1975, Pearson donated all his personal and scholarly papers to the Beinecke, as well as what he had himself dubbed the “Art for the Wrong Reason” collection. cummingsPearson’s interest in writers’ art stemmed from his desire to gain a fuller picture (so to speak) of the writers whose literature he enjoyed. "Passaic River" by William Carlos WilliamsThe “Art for the Wrong Reason” collection was featured in a Beinecke exhibit about twenty years ago. Records for works in the “Art for the Wrong Reason” collection and other art works in the Yale Collection of American Literature, as well as books by the collector and artists, can be located in Quicksearch, Yale's online catalog.