MAG 1939-1963
During the Gallery's second twenty-five years, it reached out to the community and developed its collection.
This is the 3rd in a series of timelines looking at Rochester art and the Memorial Art Gallery in celebration of the Galley's centennial in October 2013.
1939
Rush Rhees dies
Rush Rhees died in January 1939.
View on timeline1939
Bridging the Campuses
In early 1939, the Department of Art & Archaeology and the Memorial Art Gallery presented a Program of Integration to the University.
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Spanish-American War Memorial
Gertrude Herdle Moore chaired a committee to select sculpture for the Spanish-American War Memorial in Rochester.
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The Gallery during WWII
As during the First World War, the Gallery prepared to be of service to the Rochester community during the war years.
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James Dexter Havens wins Fairchild award
James Dexter Havens was honored with the Lillian Fairchild award in 1939 for his wood block prints.
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George Eastman's 18th-Century paintings shown
The Gallery exhibited George Eastman's 18th-century paintings in December 1939.
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Museum Methods course
Beginning in Fall term, 1940, the Gallery offered a course in Museum Methods to University of Rochester students majoring in Fine Arts.
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Women's Council Formed
In 1940, the Gallery's volunteer fundraising organization was organized.
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John C. Menihan wins Lillian Fairchild award
In 1940 John C. Menihan won the Lillian Fairchild award for painting, watercolors & lithographs.
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Rochester Riches
Rochester Riches was the title of a January 1943 article in Art Digest, discussing purchases made by the Memorial Art Gallery with funds donated by R.T. Miller, Jr.
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Van Gogh paintings come to MAG
In January 1941 an exhibition of 14 paintings by Vincent Van Gogh were exhibited at the Memorial Art Gallery.
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Folk Art of Rochester & the Genesee Valley
With the Rochester Historical Society, the Gallery mounted the first exhibition of Folk Art of Rochester & the Genesee Valley.
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Gallery begins Juror's Award shows
In 1941, the Gallery began a tradition of awarding Juror's awards associated with the Rochester-Finger Lakes exhibitions.
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Eakins portrait of Macdowell acquired
The Gallery acquired this portrait of William H. Macdowell by his son-in-law Thomas Eakins, in 1941.
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Lending Library of American Art
In 1941 the Gallery began an initiative to allow Gallery members to rent artwork with a view toward later purchase.
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Air-Raid Planning
The Gallery joined other art museums nationwide in developing plans for air-raid preparedness.
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Air Warden Charlotte Whitney Allen
By late December 1941, there was a call for volunteer air raid wardens.
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Peters creates murals for Charlotte High School
Carl W. Peters' final mural commission under the WPA's Fine Arts Project was for Charlotte High School.
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Fritz Trautmann paints Galaxy
Fritz Trautmann was an artist, a landscape architect, a color theorist and a teacher in the Creative Workshop, the Gallery’s studio school.
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Bragdon's Mathematical Abstractions Shown at MAG
Bragdon’s "Mathematical Abstractions" is a set of images based on mathematical relationships and suggestive of cosmic forms in the solar system.
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Thorne Rooms exhibited at MAG
In April - May 1942, the Women's Council arranged for the Thorne Miniature Rooms to be shown at MAG.
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Top-secret war work at MAG
The Gallery's kiln was used four days a week beginning in the summer of 1942 by the University's Institute of Optics, in a research project for the War Department.
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Women's Council sponsors Printmaker's Club
In 1942, the Women's Council sponsored several new programs, including a Printmaker's Club for children twelve to sixteen years old.
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William Ehrich wins Lillian Fairchild Award
In 1942, Rochester artist William Ehrich won the Lillian Fairchild award for sculpture.
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Community outreach during the war years
Gas and rubber rationing impacted attendance at many museums during the war.
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The Eight return to MAG
In 1943, the Brooklyn Museum organized an exhibition of works by The Eight, duplicating in part the 1908 exhibition at Macbeth Gallery.
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Art Therapy
In 1944, the Gallery trained volunteers to provide art activities as a form of occupational therapy in local hospitals.
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New Homelands Celebrations
Twenty-five years after the Homelands Exhibition organized by George Herdle, the Gallery and the YWCA organized a series of exhibitions celebrating the diverse art of Rochester's ethnic communities.
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Gallery Founder dies
On February 8, 1945, Gallery founder Emily Sibley Watson passed away in her Prince Street home.
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Hubbub about a fish
“I never thought a dead fish would cause so much trouble,” said long-time MAG curator Isabel C. Herdle.
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Paintings by e.e. cummings Shown
Paintings by e.e. cummings were shown at MAG in June 1945.
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A.B.C.'s of Modern Art
In response to the "Fish" controversy, the Gallery contacted museums, collectors & dealers, and opened a teaching exhibition on the A.B.C.'s of Modern Art in October 1945.
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Hilda Altschule wins Fairchild Award
In 1945, Hilda Altschule (Mrs. William H. Coates) won the Lillian Fairchild award for painting.
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Craft in Western New York, Part two
In 1944, Aileen Osborne Webb founded the School for American Craftsmen, initially at Dartmouth College.
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Forbidden Art of the Third Reich exhibited at MAG
In October 1945, the Nierendorf Gallery in New York opened an exhibition featuring "Forbidden Art of the Third Reich, paintings by German artists whose work was banned from museums and forbidden to exhibit."
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Weavers' Guild formed
The Weavers' Guild of Rochester was formed in Spring of 1946.
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Social Outreach of the Gallery
In 1946 the Gallery began several social outreach projects to bring art into the community.
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Gertrude Herdle Moore honored
On May 14, 1947, Gertrude Herdle Moore was elected as a Fellow of the Rochester Museum (now Rochester Museum & Science Center) for contributions to community culture.
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150th anniversary of lithography celebrated
In April 1948, the Print Club of Rochester commemorated the 150th anniversary of lithography with a major exhibition at the Memorial Art Gallery.
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George Eastman Collection shown at MAG
Paintings from the George Eastman Collection moved temporarily to the Gallery in 1948 during the renovation of George Eastman House.
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A War Story
In 1948, a young German woman came to Gertrude Herdle Moore's office, with a roll of prints under one arm and a book in her hand.
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Thomas Tibbs joins Gallery staff
Thomas S. Tibbs, a Rochester alumnus, joined the Gallery staff in 1948.
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Jocelyn Macy Sloan wins Fairchild Award
In 1948, Jocelyn Macy Sloan won the Lillian Fairchild Award for her sculptural work in alabaster, stone, and terracotta.
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Gallery purchases treasures at Brummer auctions
Works from the collection of dealer Joseph Brunner were auctioned in Spring of 1949.
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The Creative Workshop is born
Although the Gallery held art classes from its inception, the art school for all ages was not known as the Creative Workshop until around 1949.
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Rochester Art Director's Club Formed
This organization of advertising artists was created in June 1950. For many years it exhibited at the Memorial Art Gallery.
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School for American Craftsmen moves to RIT
The School for American Craftsmen moved from Alfred University to RIT in 1949; formal instruction began in the Fall of 1950.
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Lola Konraty wins Lillian Fairchild Award
Lola Konraty won the 1950 Lillian Fairchild award for sculpture.
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Cornelis de Kiewiet 5th President UR
Cornelis de Kiewiet was President of the University of Rochester from 1951-1961.
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Arena Group founded
The Arena Group began in 1951.
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