This fund was established in 1994 by the estate of Robert H. Axline to support the acquisition of oriental art objects in the Samuel P. Harm Museum of Art.

Axline was born on May 4, 1907. He was a graduate of Purdue University and a retired executive of the Brown Shoe Company of St. Louis, MO. He passed away on May 3, 1994, at age 86. His wife, Kathleen, preceded him in death in 1990 at age 76.