Women in the galleries: Prestige, education, and volunteerism at mid-century

Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies

Volumn 29, Issue 1, 2003, Pages

  Nosan, Gregory ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 60950730434     PISSN: 00693235     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/4113027     Document Type: Article

References (79)

1. "Memo on Chicago," Vogue (July 1952), p. 68
2. Mrs. Walter E. Anderson, Mary Block, Kathleen Harvey, Mary Ward, and Suzette Morton Zurcher, "Suggested Plan for a Woman's Board of the Art Institute," Sept. 19, 1952, p. 2. Archives of The Art Institute of Chicago. Unless otherwise specified, all references to Art Institute and Woman's Board correspondence, and to oral history transcripts and other manuscripts and ephemera, are to documents residing in the Art Institute Archives
3. The Art Institute made much of its unprecedented decision to approach the general public for money. "Come and look ... and learn," declared a museum advertisement of January 1952: "The Art Institute of Chicago has said that to all the people of this city for 73 years. Today, for the first time, it asks all the people to help it meet a financial emergency." See Souvenir Program for Sadler's Well's Theatre Ballet, Jan. 21, 1952, Chicago Civic Opera House. For more on the Emergency Fund Drive and Rich's long career at the Art Institute, see John W. Smith, "The Nervous Profession: Daniel Catton Rich and The Art Institute of Chicago, 1927-1958," Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 19, 1 (1993), pp. 58-79
4. "The drive was labeled an emergency," reported the Chicago Daily News, "because exterior stonework ... was crumbling dangerously and repairs were needed throughout the rest of the structure." By April 1953, collected funds had been used to tuck-point and restore stonework; renovate, relight, and enlarge gallery space; and repair the heating system and roof. "City Responds Heartily to Art Institute Appeal," Chicago Daily News, Apr. 22, 1953
5. For more on the architectural history of the Art Institute, see Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 14, 1 (1988)
6. Daniel Cation Rich, quoted in Rita Fitzpatrick, "Art Institute a Living Thing; Kicks Prove It," Chicago Tribune, Dec. 12, 1951
7. "Thalia," "Chicagoans Rally to Aid Art Instirute," Chicago Tribune, Feb. 10, 1952
8. For a brief introduction to the connections between this Progressive-Era ethos and the Arts-and-Crafts atmosphere of women's education more generally, see Wendy Kaplan, "Women Designers and the Arts and Crafts Movement," in Pat Kirkham, ed., Women Designers in the USA: Diversity and Difference, 1900-2000, exh. cat. (New York, 2000), pp. 84-99
9. Quoted in Jane Gregory, "If They Only Had the Time," Chicago Sun Times, May 1, 1959
10. For more on Blake's character and accomplishments, see Kathryn Loring, "Blake Art to Be Shown at May Party," Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1954
11. and Athlyn Deshais, "Mrs. Blake Is One of Guiding Forces at Institute: She Gave Our Art a Soul," Chicago Daily News, Apr. 18, 1959
12. Woman's Board members Mary Block, Helen Geraghty, Babbie Smith, and Suzette Morton Zurcher, among others, were all committed members of the Chicago Public School Art Society. For more on the history of the Antiquarian Society, which was founded as the Chicago Society of Decorative Art in 1877, see Celia Hilliard, "'Higher Things': Remembering the Early Antiquarians," Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 28, 2 (2002), pp. 6-21
13. For more on Blake's collection, see A Quarter Century of Collecting: Drawings Given to The Art Institute of Chicago 1844-1970 by Margaret Day Blake, exh. cat. (Chicago, 1970)
14. and Suzanne Folds McCullagh, "Drawings in The Art Institute of Chicago," Master Drawings 38, 3 (fall 2000), pp. 241-48
15. For a quick introduction to this complex fracas, see "Art Institute's Plans For Addition Bared," ChicagoSun Times, Jan. 8, 1955
16. and "City Gets Right To Oppose Art Institute Suit," Chicago Tribune, July 13, 1955
17. Petersen (note 19). The Masterpiece Ball was the subject of many feature articles in the Chicago press, the most substantial of which are Annette Darling, "They're as Pretty as a Picture," Chicago Daily News, May 17, 1952
18. Athlyn Deshais, "Art Works Breathe as 600 in Costume Dance at the Hilton," Chicago Daily News, May 24, 1952
19. One reporter, for instance, remarked of Chicago's balls:"... if you are one of the old guard you can remember some very spectacular ones, such as the great Victory Ball given by the Arts Club at the end of World War I." "Thalia," "Masterpiece Ball Friday to Be Spectacular Event," Chicago Tribune, May 18, 1952
20. For more on the Merry-Go-Round, see Richard P. Trenbeth, "Art Merry-Go-Round," Public Relations Journal 8, 12 (Dec, 1953)
21. and Mary Dougherty, "Mary-Go-Round," Chicago Sun Times, May 13, 1953
22. Patricia Kubicek, for instance, recalls that the living tableaux were "the most popular offerings" at the board's May Festivals, and drew anxious spectators determined not to miss "the great beauties of Chicago who appeared frequently in the social pages." See Patricia Kubicek, "The Community Associates," handwritten manuscript, Feb. 2002
23. Mary Dougherty, "Mary-Go-Round," Chicago Sun Times, May 15, 1955
24. See, for instance, Marilyn Unmacht, "Art Institute May Festival Proves Breezy and Informal," Chicago Tribune, May 25, 1954
25. "Cholly Dearborn," "4,000 Enjoy Art Festival," Chicago Sun Times, May 17, 1955
26. Barbara Powers, "Plan 'Backstage Tour' of The Art Institute," Chicago Daily News, Apr. 24, 1963
27. and Jane Gregory, "Culture Festival Extends Its Run," Chicago Sun Times, May 15, 1966
28. Department of Public Relations, The Art Institute of Chicago, press release on the Woman's Board, Nov. 26, 1952. For more details on the personalities and politics of the Woman's Board's formation, see Percy B. Eckhart, letter to Walter S. Brewster, July 17, 1950
29. Florence Miller, "The Woman's Board of The Art Institute of Chicago," June/July 1967; and Petersen (note 19)
30. Kenneth Shopen, "Where are the Men? Women Taking Helm of Art World," Chicago Daily News, June 5, 1953. "Women," continued Shopen, "far outnumber men at art exhibitions, an lectures, and art functions of all kinds at the Art Institute. ... The box office at Orchestra Hall reports that from sixty-five to eighty-five percent of audiences at symphony concerts are women."
31. Mrs. Egmont Frankel, "Summary of the Conference of Women's Committees of America," Nov. 12, 1952, p. 2
32. For Marx's collection, see Lucy R. Lippard, The School of Paris: Paintings from the Florene May Schoenbom and Samuel A. Marx Collection, exh. cat. (New York, 1965)
33. On Paepcke, see James Sloan Allen, The Romance of Commerce and Culture: Capitalism, Modernism, and the Chicago-Aspen Crusade for Cultural Reform (Chicago, 1983)
34. Steinberg's holdings were later catalogued in William S. Lieberman, ed., An American Choice: The Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman Collection, exh. cat (New York, 1981)
35. For a catalogue of Judson's work, see For Gardens and Other Places: The Sculpture of Sylvia Shaw Judson (Chicago, 1967)
36. Waller's Radio: The Fifth Estate (Boston, 1946) was a pioneering study of broadcasting practice
37. Margaret Blake, "Redraft of Letter to Woman's Board Members," Feb. 16, 1953
38. "Function of the Associates Committee," manuscript, n.d., pp. 2-3. This was not the first time that such an idea had surfaced at the Art Institute. As early as 1916, for example, the museum's extension programs involved traveling exhibits; lectures to explain them; and permanent community organizations to further the continuance of such efforts. See Art Institute of Chicago: Thirty-Seventh Annual Report (Chicago, 1916), p. 35
39. Jane Clarke, interviewed by Gregory Nosan, Oct. 11, 2002, oral history transcript. For a general sense of whom the Community Associates attracted, see "Cholly Dearborn," "Smart Set," Chicago American, Apr. 13, 1953
40. Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York, 2000)
41. For more on the associates' art-appreciation experiences at the museum itself, see Sylvia Cassell, "Clubwomen Qualify as Art Critics," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 29, 1955
42. See Kenneth Shopcn, "Art Patrons Called Snobs For 'Refusing' to Buy the Works of Chicago Artists," Chicago Daily News, Oct. 18, 1953
43. and idem, "Art Climate Here a Bit Cool; Experts Debate Warming It Up," Chicago Daily News, Feb. 28, 1954
44. Quoted in Shopen, "An Climate Here a Bit Cool" (note 48)
45. On the Chicago art scene in the 1950s, see Franz Schultzc, "An News in Chicago," An News 70, 7 (Nov. 1971), pp. 48-55
46. idem, Fantastic Images: Chicago Art since 1945 (Chicago, 1972)
47. Charles A. Lewis and Cynthia Yao, Chicago: The City and Its Artists, 1945-1978 exh. cat. (Ann Arbor, 1978)
48. and Lynne Warren, Art in Chicago, 1945-1995, exh. cat. (New York/Chicago, 1996)
49. For a brief sampling of the art on offer to Chicago gallery-goers at this point in time, see Eleanor Jewett, "Interesting Little Shows Fill Galleries," Chicago Tribune' Feb. 22, 1953
50. and Kenneth Shopen, "In the Byways of Chicago - An Is Where You Find It," Chicago Daily News, Feb. 12, 1964
51. and Patricia Moore, "An Old Mansion Is Saved," Chicago Daily News, Nov. 21, 1953
52. The Artists' Equity gallery is described in Frank Holland, "Gallery to Open Saturday In Historic Borden Mansion," Chicago Sun Times, Oct. 4, 1953
53. and Kenneth Shopen, "You Don't Need a Fortune to Purchase Original Art," Chicago Daily News, Nov. 20, 1953
54. see Frank Holland, "Sale On for Under $50," Chicago Sun Times, Nov. 25, 1951
55. Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman, "The Woman's Board," manuscript, 2002, p. 1. Early in 1953, Margaret Blake herself visited the Museum of Modern An, New York, where she explored that institution's rental service with Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III, and the museum's director, René d'Harnoncourt
56. Quoted in "Art-for-Rent Project Boon to City's Artists," Chicago Sun Times, Oct. 28, 1956. Among the many other corporate collectors were Amoco, American Airlines, the Chicago Sun Times, and the architectural firm Perkins and Will
57. Lois Baur, "Women Put Art on Cash, Carry Basis," Chicago Sun Times, Oct. 13, 1954
58. Daniel Catton Rich, "Educational Plans, Television," Art Institute of Chicago: Annual Report, 1954-1955, n.p
59. George D. Culler, quoted in Edward J. Snyder, Jr., "Institute to Give Free Art Lectures," Chicago Daily News, Sept. 28, 1955
60. For more on Culler, see Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 49, 3 (Sept. 15, 1955), n.p
61. Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 49, 4 (Nov. 15, 1955), n.p
62. Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly 50, 1 (Sept, 15, 1956), n.p
63. The numbers make this clear. In 1938, for instance, while the Department of Education reached nearly 27,000 non-members through public lectures and school programs, the Membership and Extension Lecturers Department served an audience of almost 69,000 members; see Art Institute of Chicago: Annual Report, 1937-1938, pp. 29-30
64. For Culler's efforts to change this state of affairs, see Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly (note 60) and Snyder (note 58)
65. Suzette Morton Zurcher, "The Museum, the Jeep, and the School Child," Art Institute of Chicago Bulletin 45, 2 (Apr.-May, 1951), pp. 32-35
66. Noteworthy among these were volunteer docent programs at the Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis art museums. In 1969 Florence Miller appointed an official committee that continued and enhanced the exploratory efforts of the ad hoc 1953 group. For more details on the Woman's Board's early plans for children's education, see Suzette Morton Zurcher and Barbara Wriston, "The Junīor Museum of The Art Institute of Chicago," n.d. (c. Jan. 1964), pp. 5-6
67. and Zoé Petersen, "History of the Junior Museum," typescript, 1991
68. For more on Zurcher's background and work at the Art Institute, see "Front Views and Profiles," Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1956
69. "Prīntīng Art," This Week In Chicago, June 20, 1956
70. Eleanor Page, "Her Art Collection Pays Off in Fun," Chicago Tribune (March, 18, 1960; and Petersen (notes 19 and 63)
71. The best specific sources on the league's exploratory effons, and its eventual collaboration with the Woman's Board, are Clarke (note 42) and Wood (note 44). For the history of the Junīor League of Chīcago, see Judy York, "Celebrating 75 Years of Service to Chicago" (Chicago, 1988)
72. Low's and Crawford's remarks appear in "Volunteers and Part-time Workers," Museum Education Circular 5 (June 1953), pp. 7-8. This series of response papers, in which museum educators shared ideas and opinions on a broad range of common concerns, is an invaluable record of the state of the profession in the 1950s
73. "Proposed Program for Expanded Junīor Educational Actīvītes: Volunteer Training Program, Junīor Art Center," Feb. 20, 1961. An important resource on other contemporary museum-education programs for young audiences is Hardean K. Naeseth, "A Study of the In-museum An Appreciation Program for Children in Four Major American Art Museums," (Ed.D. diss., Pennsylvania State University, 1963)
74. and John Zukowsky, ed., Chicago Architecture and Design, 1923-1993: Reconfiguration of an American Metropolis, exh. cat (Chicago/Munich, 1993), pp. 454-55
75. "First Three Years of the Junior Museum," typescript, 1967, p. 1
76. Lois Baur, "Wonderful World of An Opens to Children," Chicago's American, Feb. 16, 1964
77. and Jane Clarke, "The Department of Museum Education: The Art Institute of Chicago," program brochure, 1978, pp. 8-9
78. For more on the museum's earlier, unrealized ambitions for in-house television programming, see Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report, 1954-1955, n.p
79. Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report, 1968-1969, pp. 4, 6, 49