1st purchase with Marion Stratton Gould endowment
1938
The Gallery purchased El Greco's "The Apparition of the Virgin to St. Hyacinth," the first purchase from the Marion Stratton Gould Fund.
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MAG 1913-1938
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MAG History
Rochester Artists
Erik Hans Krause wins Lillian Fairchild award
1938
Erik Hans Krause won the 1938 Lillian Fairchild award for his decorative designs for textiles, mural panels, and posters.
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Carl Peters paints Fairport Library mural
1938
Another WPA commission was unveiled on November 7, 1938, when Carl Peters finished his mural for the Fairport Public Library.
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Gallery celebrates 25th anniversary
1938
Rush Rhees opened the "Precursors of Modern Art" exhibition with a formal program reviewing the growth of the Gallery.
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Watson's Highlights & Shadows screened
1938
James Sibley Watson, Jr.'s film about Kodak, "Highlights and Shadows," premiered on June 22nd in Los Angeles to rave reviews by the cinematographic...
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The First Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition
1938
The Gallery began its juried regional exhibition in 1938.
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Fritz Trautmann joins MAG Staff
1938
Beloved teacher Fritz Trautmann joined the Gallery's staff in May 1938.
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UR Co-eds Miss Nelson Eddy's visit to MAG
1938
Heart-throb Nelson Eddy performed to a sold-out crowds at the Eastman Theater on March 29, 1938.
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Carl Peters completes murals for West High School
1937
Carl Peters had completed two murals for West High School by the time of the Federal Art Project exhibition at MAG.
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Rochester's Federal Art Project exhibited
1937
In December 1937, the Gallery exhibited art works created by the artists working for the WPA's Federal Art Project in Rochester.
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MAG takes art to schools
1937
Beginning in 1937, the Gallery loaned shadow boxes containing "actual museum objects" and models of historic places to local schools.
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Susan Eisenhart and William Ehrich join MAG staff
1937
Several staff changes were announced in the October 1937 issue of Gallery Notes.
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Life of Action and Life of Contemplation
1937
Under contract with the WPA Fine Arts Project, Carl Peters created a pair of murals for James Madison High School contrasting the Life of Action and...
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Guide to Rochester and Monroe County Published
1937
In 1937, as part of the acclaimed American Guide Series, the Federal Writers' Project published a guide to Rochester and Monroe County.
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Landmark Society Founded
1937
In 1937 lifetime Gallery Board member Helen Ellwanger spearheaded a drive to preserve the Campbell-Whittlesey House.
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Gustave Fassin wins Fairchild Award
1936
In 1936, an optical instrument designer won the Lillian Fairchild award for his Wisner Road modernist home.
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Prof. Ewald Eiserhardt dies
1936
Professor of German Literature and History of Art Ewald Eiserhardt died in Germany on March 20, 1936, while on sabbatical leave.
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The WPA/FAP at MAG
1936
Beginning in February 1936, the Gallery was the center for Rochester-area Federal Arts Projects funded by the Works Progress Adminstration.
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Alexander Calder creates mobile for garden
1935
In 1935 Alexander Calder created a mobile for Charlotte Whitney Allen's Oliver Street garden.
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Gorsline awarded Herdle Memorial Prize
1935
This is the first of many paintings the Gallery acquired by Rochesterian Douglas Warner Gorsline.
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Photographs of Rochester Houses
1935
Several years before the Landmark Society was created, the Gallery was doing its part to bring local architectural treasures to public notice.
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Alan Valentine, 4th President UR
1935
Alan Valentine came to Rochester from Yale University in 1935.
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Isabel Studies at the Courtauld Institute
1934
Isabel Herdle studied at the Courtauld Institute in London during the summer of 1934.
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MAG celebrates Rochester centennial
1934
The Gallery participated in the city's centennial celebration with an exhibition of a Century of Rochester Interiors.
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Blanca Will Sculpts Bust of Herman L. Fairchild
1934
In 1934, MAG artist & teacher Blanca Will sculpted this bust of Professor Herman L. Fairchild, professor emeritus of geology.
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Festival of American Music exhibits MAG artists
1934
Beginning In 1934, Howard Hanson's Festival of American Music featured an exhibition of work by members of the Gallery's Art Fellowship.
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Civil Works Administration employs 25 Artists
1934
During the Great Depression, an alphabet soup of projects employed artists in the Rochester area.
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Gallery outreach
1934
In the mid-1930's the Gallery formalized its outreach to outlying towns through cooperation with the Women's Educational and Industrial Union.
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Public Works of Art Project
1933
The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was established in December 1933.
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Marion Leek wins Lillian Fairchild award
1933
The first University student permitted to concentrate in Art, Marion Leek was awarded the 1933 Lillian Fairchild award in her junior year.
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Art in Rochester
University of Rochester
Carl Hersey joins MAG/UR
1933
Dr. Carl Hersey joined the Fine Arts Department of the University of Rochester in 1933.
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MAG acquires Russian Icon
1933
Many Russian icons in American collections passed through the hands of two New York antique dealers who worked with the post-Revolutionary Soviet...
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Frank Lloyd Wright Lectures at MAG
1932
The lecture on the Romance and Design of Modern Architecture was marred by Wright's lecture style and disappointment with Rochester architecture.
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Walter Cassebeer wins Lillian Fairchild award
1932
In 1932, Walter Henry Cassebeer was given the Lillian Fairchild Award in recognition of his lithographs of Rochester and Western New York.
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Isabel Herdle Joins MAG Staff
1932
Isabel Herdle joined the Gallery as Assistant Director on July 1, 1932, just in time to take over during her sister's honeymoon.
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Hiram Watson Sibley dies
1932
Hiram Watson Sibley, brother to Emily Sibley Watson, passed away on June 28, 1932.
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Gertrude Herdle marries Walden Moore
1932
Gertrude Herdle married UR professor Walden Moore on June 15, 1932, in the Fountain Court of the Memorial Art Gallery.
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Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts
1932
In 1931 artist John Sloan organized a traveling exhibition of Native American Art.
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Effects of the Depression
1931
The Great Depression did not affect the Memorial Art Gallery immediately, but by 1931 staff hours were cut.
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Early Print Club exhibitions at MAG
1931
In its early years, the Print Club met and exhibited at the Memorial Art Gallery.
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Pannemaker Tapestry Acquired
1931
Trellised Garden with Animals, considered the most important Renaissance tapestry in the Gallery's collection, was given to the Gallery in 1931.
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Print Club of Rochester formed
1930
The Print Club of Rochester was organized on December 3, 1930.
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Gallery's Asian collection begun
1930
The Gallery's Department of Far Eastern Art began in 1930 when James Sibley Watson donated several Chinese objects and this serene Head of a Buddha to...
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Blanca Will wins Fairchild Award for Penguins
1930
In 1930, Blanca Will won the Lillian Fairchild Award for sculpture, portraits, and for the plaster "Penguin Fountain" which was displayed in the...
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Men move to River Campus
1930
The River Campus of the University of Rochester was formally dedicated on October 10, 1930, although classes had begun several weeks earlier.
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Sunday Art Fellowship formed
1930
In the 1930's talented students were recommended to the Art Gallery by the city schools, much as they are today.
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Watson & Webber make film about Bausch & Lomb
1930
In 1930, Dr. James Sibley Watson Jr. and Melville Webber made a film about Bausch & Lomb entitled "The Eyes of Science."
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Marion Stratton Gould Fund bequeathed to Gallery
1930
When Board Member Hannah Durand Gould died in 1930, the Gallery received its first endowment for collections.
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Carl W. Peters paints the Memorial Bridge
1930
One of Rochester's most picturesque river crossings is the Veterans' Memorial Bridge (Ridge Road), completed in 1931.
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No Strings Attached
1930
Mrs. Edith Holden Babcock established an endowment for the Gallery in 1927 when she became a member of the Board of Managers.
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Granger Family Bequest
1930
After Antoinette Pierson Granger's death in 1930, a number of Granger family portraits entered the Gallery's collection.
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First Rochester International Salon of Photography
1929
The First Rochester International Salon of Photography was held at the Gallery from December 5, 1929 to January 5, 1930.
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Norman Kent receives Lillian Fairchild award
1929
In 1929, Norman Kent was awarded the Lillian Fairchild Award for printmaking and woodcuts.
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Carl Peters paints mural at Genesee Valley Trust Building
1929
In 1930, Carl W. Peters was commissioned to create a mural in the new, art deco Genesee Valley Trust Company Building (now the Times Square building).
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Puppet Play
1929
In July 1929, these children celebrated the end of their summer classes with a Puppet Play in the Gallery's Little Theatre.
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Navajo Days
1929
In March 1929 and March 1930, the Gallery was visited by Navajo Indians who explained their culture to record crowds of school children.
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The Fall of the House of Usher
1928
In 1928 Dr. James SIbley Watson, Jr. and Melville Webber completed the expressionistic film The Fall of the House of Usher.
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Ocumpaugh donates antiquities to UR
1928
In 1928 local inventor and businessman C. Herbert Ocumpaugh donated his collection of Egyptian and Middle Eastern antiquities to the University of...
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Lulu Scott Backus receives Lillian Fairchild Award
1927
In April 1927, the Gallery showed an exhibition of Contemporary American Pottery and Decorative Arts.
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Reaching Out Over Radio
1927
In Fall of 1927 Gertrude Herdle gave radio talks over WHAM as part of college extension activities sponsored by the University of Rochester.
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Penguins in the Fountain court
1927
In May 1927 the Garden Club of Rochester filled the Fountain Court with greenery--and penguins.
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First Women's Council
1927
Beginning in 1927, the Gallery offered "private-view teas" to members at exhibition openings.
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Hildegarde Watson concert at MAG
1926
Hildegarde Lasell Watson performed in the first concert in the Little Theater on November 19, 1926.
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1st Film Shown in MAG's Little Theater
1926
The first film shown in the Little Theater was a 1922 silent from the Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled "A Visit to the Armor Galleries."
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MAG History
Donations for the 1926 Addition
1926
Gallery supporters donated works for the Fountain Court and the Children's Museum.
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Melville Webber joins Gallery Staff
1926
University of Rochester Assistant Professor of the History of Art Melville Webber was named Associate Director of the Gallery in October 1926.
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First studio art course offered at UR
1926
The University of Rochester offered its first studio art course in the 1926/1927 academic year.
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Gallery expands education staff
1926
The 1926 addition allowed the Gallery to increase its educational programming.
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Gallery's First Endowed Funds
1926
The Gallery operated without endowed funds of any kind until 1926.
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Fountain Figure commissioned
1925
In September 1925 Mr. & Mrs. Atkinson Allen commissioned the sculptor Gaston Lachaise to create a statue that would be a focal point for their garden,...
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School children bussed to Gallery
1925
During the construction of the 1926 addition, school children were bussed to the Gallery.
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Ground broken for new addition to the Gallery
1925
On June 25, 1925, ground was broken on the new addition.
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Dr. Watson's first gift to MAG
1925
This watercolor was the first of what would be almost 200 works of art donated to the Gallery by Dr. James Sibley Watson, Jr., son of Gallery founder...
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Gertrude Herdle receives honorary degree from UR
1925
An honorary master of arts degree was bestowed on Gertrude Herdle at the 1925 University of Rochester graduation ceremony.
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Mestrovic purchase drive
1925
In April 1925 a record-breaking exhibition of Mestrovic's sculpture at the Memorial Art Gallery led to a subscription drive to add works by the artist...
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Expedition to Carthage
1925
The University of Michigan and the University of Rochester supported an archaeological expedition in Carthage in 1925.
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Watsons donate money for new addition to Gallery
1924
Minutes of the Board of Directors for December 11, 1924 thank Mr. and Mrs. Watson "for their [initial] subscription of one hundred thousand dollars...
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Carl Peters wins 1st Lillian Fairchild award
1924
The first Lillian Fairchild Award was given to Carl W. Peters for his winter landscapes in oil.
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Gertrude Herdle Becomes Gallery's 2nd director
1923
Gertrude Herdle had been appointed Acting Director by the Gallery's Board at its October 12, 1922 meeting.
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Gertrude Herdle Member Assoc. of Museum Directors
1923
In May 1923, Gertrude Herdle attended the Annual Meeting of the Association of Art Museum Directors.
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Elizabeth Denio dies
1922
University of Rochester Professor Elizabeth H. Denio died unexpectedly December 23, 1922.
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George Herdle Memorial Exhibition
1922
A retrospective exhibition of sixty oil paintings by George Leonard Herdle was held October 25 - November 26, 1922.
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From Emily Sibley Watson's ledgers
1922
In 1922, Emily Sibley Watson donated $100 to help purchase a painting by George Herdle after his untimely death.
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Death of George Leonard Herdle
1922
George Herdle, the Gallery's first director, died of Hodgkin's disease on September 29, 1922.
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Art in Rochester
A Summer Exhibition
1922
MAG's summer exhibition in 1922 included 5 paintings loaned by Hildegarde Lasell Watson's cousin, Mrs. George Marston Whitin.
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Gertrude Herdle becomes Deputy for George Herdle
1922
In the final months of her father's life, the Board of Managers authorized Gertrude Herdle to become his deputy.
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Hattie Strong gift of Northwest Indian Basketry
1922
In 1922, Hattie M. Strong, widow of Henry Alvah Strong, donated a collection of Northwest Coast Indian baskets to the Memorial Art Gallery.
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Disappearing Rochester: the Erie Canal Weigh Lock
1922
This Erie Canal weigh lock was built in 1852 and replaced by the subway in 1922.
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Gertrude Herdle on the road
1921
Gertrude Herdle attended the AAMD meetings at the Corcoran as her father's deputy on May 16th & 17th 1921.
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Celebrating Immigrant Culture
1920
The Gallery has a long history of outreach to Rochester's ethnic communities, beginning with the 1920 Homelands Exhibition.
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New publisher of the Dial Magazine
1920
In 1920, Dr. James Sibley Watson, Jr., son of Gallery founder Emily Sibley Watson, became co-publisher of the avant-garde Dial Magazine.
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Furor over George Bellows exhibition
1919
In December 1919 the Gallery opened a solo exhibition by George Bellows. The exhibit became a test for Gallery director George Herdle.
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Gallery begins Picture Story Hours for children
1919
In the Fall of 1919, Gertrude Herdle began a program of Picture Story Hours for children.
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Gertrude Herdle begins to work at MAG
1918
Around the time of her graduation from the University of Rochester, Gertrude Herdle began to assist her father at the Memorial Art Gallery.
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War's Burden
1917
"At this time of war's burden and distress the ministry of our Gallery to the spiritual life of our community is more important than ever before."
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Miss Lasell marries
1916
James Sibley Watson, Jr. and Hildegarde Lasell were married October 14, 1916 in Whitinsville, MA.
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A Permanent Loan from a Friend
1916
In the early years the Gallery had no endowment for the purchase of art, so generous patrons often purchased or loaned art work to the Gallery.
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George Herdle helps form Association of Art Museum Directors
1916
The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) was formed on July 6, 1916.
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Chamber of Commerce Building opens
1916
Designed by Claude Bragdon, the building was constructed in 1916 as a gift to the community from George Eastman.
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Deepening the River Bed
1916
Between 1913 and 1919, the Genesee River bed was lowered by approximately 10 feet between Broad Street and High Falls as a flood control measure.
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Early exhibitions by Rochester artists
1915
Rochester artists Kathleen McEnery Cunningham and Emma Lampert Cooper (with her husband Colin Campbell Cooper) exhibited in early shows.
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The First Song & Light Festival
1915
In September of 1915, Claude Bragdon helped organize the Song and Light Festival, a community-building public singing event held in Highland Park.
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Whistler portraiture exhibition
1915
In April 1915, the Gallery held an important exhibition of Whistler portraiture organized by Gallery supporter Elmer Adler.
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Artist Braves March Weather to Paint Lower River
1915
At least two paintings were created as a result of W. Elmer Schofield's visit to Rochester in March 1915. Both are now in the Gallery's collection.
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The Modern Movement in American Art
1915
In February-March 1915, the Gallery showed an exhibition of the Modern Movement in American Art.
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Charlotte Whitney Allen's Garden
1915
Charlotte Whitney Allen's garden has played an important role in the Gallery's history.
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The New Color Photography
1914
On October 31, 1914 Kodak's first Kodachrome two-color process was unveiled in an exhibition at the Memorial Art Gallery.
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MAG supports local arts groups
1914
The Gallery offered both the Rochester Art Club and the Rochester Art League free use of its facilities for meetings as early as 1914 and 1915.
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Modern German Posters
1914
Claude Bragdon designed this poster for an exhibition of Modern German Posters at the Gallery in September 1914.
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Paintings owned by Residents of Rochester
1914
In June 1914, the Gallery held the first of several loan exhibitions of paintings owned by residents of Rochester.
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Unearthing the Buried Cities of Palestine
1914
The first lecture held at the Gallery by the Archeological Society of Rochester featured Dr. Frederick J. Bliss, discussing excavations in Palestine.
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Gallery admits school groups free
1914
In January 1914 it was decided to admit school groups to the Gallery free of charge, when arrangements were made ahead of time.
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Bragdon's New York Central Railroad Station
1914
Claude Bragdon's terminal for the New York Central Railroad opened in 1914.
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Memory
1913
Emily Sibley Watson commissioned sculptor William Ordway Partridge to "create a life-size sculpture in fine Carrara marble, as well as a portrait...
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Sibley & Watson families' first gifts of art
1913
1913 saw the donation of a number of artworks by members of the Sibley & Watson families, the beginning of a long history of such gifts.
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The Gallery's first director
1913
George Herdle was not a shoo-in candidate for the Gallery's directorship.
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Art in Rochester
A Memorial Lamp
1913
A group of Friends and Associates of Mr. J. G. Averell donated a memorial lamp to the Gallery.
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MAG 1913-1938
The Memorial Art Gallery's first 25 years established the Gallery as the city's fine arts museum.
This is the 2nd in a series of timelines looking at Rochester art and the Memorial Art Gallery in celebration of the Gallery's centennial in October 2013.