PHOTO CREDIT/OFFICE OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Lake Scene by Charles Bentley sold at the auction for $625.

Young women studying at St. John’s could now be beneficiaries of the new Patricia Kelly Roche Scholarship funded by proceeds from the recent auction of more than 100 highly regarded works of art.

European and American paintings, prints and watercolors were auctioned at Freeman’s in Philadelphia, P.A. from the Patricia and John Roche Collection.

The proceeds from the auction are expected to fund scholarships for young women with high financial need who are enrolled in the St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the same University division where Patricia Roche earned her degree, according to the Office of Marketing and Communications.

Roche received scholarship aid from the Diocese of Brooklyn and was the first in her family to attend college thanks to her scholarship assistance. She later took on a career in publishing children’s books and her interests guided her in the direction of landscape painting. With her husband, she acquired a large collection of paintings that are now being used to benefit students.

“Years later, always remembering the opportunity she enjoyed, Patricia paid it forward by ensuring that new generations of talented young women will be able to pursue their own dreams at the University,” Christian Vaupel Ed.D., Vice President for Advancement and University Relations, said to the Office of Marketing and Communications.

The prices of the art from the collection range from $100 to $250,000 and the final selling prices of each piece can be seen at auctions.freemansauction.com/auction-catalog/1582.