In 1955 a rare and valuable Aubusson tapestry (depicting a woman and three children beneath a tree with the children reaching up to catch the birds) was donated by Kappa Alpha fraternity as a memorial to the late E. R. “Ned” Lutz. A 1912 UT graduate, Lutz became nationally known for insurance and manufacturing. He headed three firms—J. F. Lutz and Company, the C. B. Atkin Manufacturing Company, and the Atlumore Manufacturing Company. He had been president of the UT Alumni Association and an alumnus official of Kappa Alpha. He was twice president of the National Association of Amateur Trap Shooters—his favorite hobby.
The tapestry, woven in 1770, was from the collection of the late Valerie Knapp Langeloth Bonham. When the furnishings of the Bonham’s palatial estate were sold, it was purchased by a KA alumnus for the chapter to give in Lutz’s memory. The tapestry was presented to be hung in the Hoskins Library by Dr. Frank Bowyer, past president of the Kappa Alpha Alumni, and accepted by President C. E. Brehm.
In spring 1973 the tapestry was stolen, apparently while the library was open. UT police believed that the theft was not related to the later (August 21, 1973) theft of art objects from the Audigier Collection. Neither the tapestry nor the art objects subsequently stolen were recovered.