Looking ahead to the reopening, which will mark a new phase in the development of this institution, I am also mindful of the museum's long and distinguished history. Founded in 1876, the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum is, in fact, one of the oldest teaching museums in the country. The first original oil painting in the collection, Hetch Hetchy Canyon by Albert Bierstadt, was presented by Mrs. A. L. Williston and Mrs. E. H. Sawyer, wives of two trustees, to celebrate the opening of the new gallery. The next major chapter in the history of the museum was initiated by a gifted graduate of the college. Louise Fitz-Randolph (class of 1872) was teaching art history at Lake Erie Seminary when she was invited in 1892 to return to Mount Holyoke to inaugurate a Department of Art and Archaeology. A noted scholar of ancient art, Miss Randolph established the tradition of rigorous study of art supported by direct experience of art objects. She also believed firmly that the college needed a larger facility for teaching art and for displaying the museum's collection of original works of art and plaster casts. Ground was broken for Dwight Memorial Art Building in 1900. In the meantime, the establishment of endowments for art acquisitions was a critical and forward-thinking development, providing the opportunity to add to the collection in a deliberate and thoughtful way. The first was established in 1884 to honor the retirement of Elizabeth Blanchard, Professor of Classics, and the second in 1912 on the occasion of Miss Randolph's own retirement. Funds were expended wisely during the 1920s and early 1930s, especially in the area of Greek antiquities. Attention was also paid to encouraging gifts of works of art. Over the years, a number of individuals, more than I can mention, have been extremely generous to the museum. The gifts of Mrs. Caroline R. Hill still stand out: 67 works of art, including eleven important panel paintings of the 14th and 15th centuries (one of them from Duccio's famous Maestà), a strong group of medieval and early Renaissance sculptures, as well as other objects. In 1968, the Board of Trustees of the College approved construction of a larger facility for studio and art history classrooms and a professionally equipped art museum. The architect, Hugh Stubbins, described the structure, completed in 1971, as "a two-story teaching facility over a one-story museum." The recent renovation of the entire building and the expansion of the art museum, planned by architect Nicholas Garrison of The Hillier Group, solves some of the logistical challenges of the 1971 structure. Now the museum has more gallery space to display works from its collection and thereby support teaching across the curriculum more effectively. Equally important, students and faculty on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building can access the museum via a new passenger elevator. Please visit us beginning in early April and see all these exciting changes first-hand. —Marianne
Doezema
|
Work
on the renovation and expansion of the museum is complete, and
as I write this letter in early January, art is being moved back
into the building. Each day, our work brings us several steps
closer to reopening, with 3,400 more square feet of gallery space
than existed previously.
