171st Annual Report for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Item

Title

171st Annual Report for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Identifier

1976-AR.pdf

Date

1976

Creator

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Subject

annual report
finance report
school report
exhibition
history

Publisher

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' Dorothy and Kenneth Woodcock Archives

Medium

paper

Format

PDF

Source

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' Dorothy and Kenneth Woodcock Archives

Language

eng

Rights

Digitized archival materials are accessible for purposes of education and research. We have indicated what we know about copyright and rights of privacy, publicity, or trademark. Due to the nature of archival collections, we are not always able to identify this information. We are eager to hear from any rights owners, so that we may obtain accurate information. Upon request, we will remove material from public view while we address a rights issue.

extracted text

OFFICERS
John Gribbel 2nd, President
Henry S. McNeil, Vice President
Clement B. Newbold, Jr., Treasurer
Robert Stubbs, Secretary
Rita P. Damiano, Comptroller
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Charles L. Andes
Mrs. Walter H. Annenberg
Walter G. Arader
Benjamin D. Bernstein
Mrs. Bertram D. Coleman
Daniel W. Dietrich II
David Gwinn
Samuel M. V. Hamilton
Henry F. Harris
Frank T. Howard
Arthur C. Kaufmann
John H. Keelan
Charles J. Kenkelen
Mrs. Edward B. Leisenring, Jr.
Charles E. Mather III
Henry S. McNeil
Donald E. Meads
Bertman L. O'Neill
Mrs. Meyer P. Potamkin
Edgar P. Richardson
David W. Scully
Martin P. Snyder
Frank R. Veale
Charles J. Webb II
Grahame Wood
EX OFFICIO
John Gribbel 2nd
Mrs. James W. Cooke, President, Women's Committee
Daniel D. Miller, Faculty Representative
ADVISORY BOARD
Francis I. Gowen
H. Lea Hudson
James M. Large
John W. McCoubrey
John W. Merriam
C. Earle Miller
Theodore T. Newbold
Clement B. Newbold, Jr.
Frederick W. G. Peck
Evan Randolph
Robert K. Scarborough
Orvel Sebring
James K. Stone
Mrs. John Wintersteen
Andrew Wyeth
DIRECTOR
Richard J. Boyle

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR

"The timing of the restoration, ostensibly for the
Bicentennial, actually coincides with a growing
consciousness of the excellence of the best
nineteenth-century architectural design."
Ada Louise Huxtable
The New York Times
May 9, 1976
Despite the many problems and disappointments
associated with the Bicentennial celebration in
Philadelphia, it did provide the inspiration and the
impetus for many worthwhile and significant projects. One of the most important of these in
Philadelphia, and one which has had an impact on a
national scale is, of course, the restoration of the

Pennsylvania Academy's century-old National
Landmark building designed by Furness and
Hewitt.
1976, therefore, has been an extraordinary year
for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. On
April 22nd, the restored gallery spaces were opened
to Academy patrons and members, including a
special preview for Philadelphia artists and architects. Between two and three thousand people
were expected for the membership opening, but the
attendance actually came closer to five thousand.
The Academy's reopening on the occasion of the
hundredth anniversary of its building was a resounding success.
If the reopening date for the galleries was April,

the target date for the Academy School was September; after the parties were over upstairs, work
continued downstairs and the School was opened in
time for the 1976-77 academic year.
However, the parties were over in more than one
sense of the word. Because of fewer than anticipated
Bicentennial visitors, and because of pride and an
ardent ambition to succeed in 1976, we incurred a
substantial deficit. In the effort to erase this deficit,
members of the Board and supporters of the
Academy responded most generously to a letter of
appeal written by the Academy's President, John
Gribbel. So far $68,479 has been raised towards
eliminating the overage of $78,820. Money is also
still being sought to finish the work on the building.
The final check in the sum of $163,000 has been
received from the State of Pennsylvania, completing
its generous grant of $1,163,000. We have received
$90,000 from The Kresge Foundation, Troy, Michigan, towards the $105,000 required to complete the
Academy's auditorium; $15,000 needed to match
the Kresge grant has been supplied by an anonymous donor.
Work on the Conservation Laboratory continues
and our conservator, Joseph Amarotico, will move
into the Broad and Cherry building in November.
The design for picture storage and office space in
the basement area is being worked on and discussions with the architect are going forward. The
estimated date for the return of the collection, as
well as staff occupancy, is March, 1977. In the
meantime most of the Staff continues to work in the
Peale House.
1976 has been a year of staff changes as well. Mrs.
Mary Hopper has replaced Louise Schutz as Administrative Assistant to the Director. Joseph S.
MacLaughlin has resigned as Director of Development and Public Relations, as did his assistant,
Pamela Carunchio. Alva M. Meyers continues as
Consultant in Development and Mary Lou
Boardman has replaced Ms. Carunchio. Pamela
Lajeunesse has replaced Susan Leidy as Assistant
Registrar.
In regard to staff changes, I regret to report that
this is Henry Hotz's last Annual Report as Dean of
the School. Mr. Hotz retires, January 31, a sad day
for the Academy School which he has run so well for
so many years.
We have been coping with many serious concerns
and we have been dealing with extraordinary
problems. We have also had extraordinary accomplishments beginning with the relocation of the
School, Staff and Collection, and the return to the
restored Broad and Cherry building by April 22,
1976. We have instituted a massive lending program
in order to keep as much of the Collection as
possible on public view. The culmination of that
lending policy was Young America, the exhibition of
PAFA paintings which toured Great Britain and
New York, from July 1975 to February 1976. Young
America was a phenomenal success, and was not
only fully financed outside the Academy budget, but
came up showing a modest surplus. In 1975, also,
the Federal Government made the Furness building
a National Historic Landmark, and by 1976 we
restored that Landmark building and reopened on

time, a monumental task and a major achievement.
The restoration has left its mark on the country at
large and is an architectural legacy for future
generations.
Along with the building we have also restored the
Collection. We have organized and mounted In This
Academy, the most exciting, and one of the biggest
exhibitions ever held at the Academy. At the same
time in Peale House, we presented another major
Bicentennial exhibition, Symbols of Peace. We have
produced six new publications: In This Academy
(hard and soft cover)-a serious contribution to
American art and Academy history; Symbols of
Peace; Some Thoughts on Painting in Pennsylvania;
Faces of The Pennsylvania Academy-a layman's
guide to the Academy; a re-designed School
catalogue; and a PAFA coloring book for our
Museum Shop, which in itself is one of the
best-looking sales shops around. We have also
filmed the step-by-step restoration of the building,
concei ved just before restoration work was started
in 1974, as a way of documenting the work itself and
presenting a slice of Academy history. We have a
treatment-and a considerable amount of very
dramatic and beautiful footage before and during
restoration-done by a local film-maker, William C.
Bopp and his cameraman, Peaseley Bond. Further
work on this project has been temporarily halted
pending further financing.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that
practically all the efforts described above were
achieved by an active and gratifying collaboration
among the Board, the Staff and the Women's
Committee. This is one of the great strengths of the
Pennsylvania Academy and a most important hope
for the future.
Richard J. Boyle

REPORT OF THE DEAN
OF THE SCHOOL

The 1975-76 school year, the second year of absence
from the Academy's Furness building at Broad and
Cherry Streets, did not have quite' the exhilaration
of the first year when we were facing and solving
problems and challenges created by the move to
temporary quarters at 2200 Arch Street. Nevertheless , the latter year of the exodus was a busy one,
with a full enrollment and an emergence of talented
students, guided and encouraged by our excellent
faculty.
III a day school of 404 students, 26 states and 10
foreign countries were represented, with 86 percent
twenty years of age or older, and 68 percent with
some education beyond high school (16 percent held
an academic degree). These figures represent a

trend in recent years toward an older, more mature
student body and a growing proportion interested in
an academic degree opportunity.
In May 1976, the Academy and the University of
Pennsylvania re-established a coordinated program
whereby Academy students can earn a Bachelor of
Fine Arts degree awarded by the University. Students entering this five-year program would combine their Academy student credit with academic
credits from the College of General Studies. The
B.F.A. degree program with the Philadelphia College of Art will continue unchanged.
This was the first year of the Ford Grant of
$50,000 for Faculty Enrichment. To qualify, we
must raise $150,000 before September 1, 1978. We

have received gifts totaling $64,135, including the
initial $25,000 from the Foundation.
One of the excellent features of the 2200 Arch
Street studio was the sculpture workshop where
welding, stone cutting, wood carving, kiln firing,
and small metal casting could be done. With the
help of the Tiffany Foundation, a few industrial
power tools were added this year, giving the
sculpture students the opportunity to extend their
work.
Two new appointments were made to the School
staff: Richard Ranck, an Academy student of
painting, became Registrar upon the retirement of
Miss Constance Taylor; and Mrs. Marietta P.
Bushnell became Librarian, replacing Miss Ethel
Ashton, who died May 8, 1975 after 18 years in that
post. Mrs. Martha Zelt Stanton, Instructor in silkscreen, resigned and has been replaced by Miss
Mavis Pusey. Joseph Amarotico returned to the
faculty as Instructor of painting; during the past two
years, he has been able to devote his full time to
restoration of the Academy's collection preparatory
to the bicentennial exhibition, In This Academy.
Six small student exhibitions were held in the
Peale House where the exercise of organizing and
hanging a sizable show, under the guidance of a
member of the faculty, provided valuable experience as well as pointing up to all students the kind of
work being done. The basic thirty hours of studio
and three weekly lectures on Materials and
Techniques, Perspective, and Art History, were
expanded by a series of lectures on Anatomy by
Robert Hale and visits by artists Harvey Dinnerstein, Yves Beaujard, Nakazito Hitoshi, Sidney
Simon, Ted Egri, Joseph Wilfer, Peter Paone,
Sidney Goodman, Angelo Frudakis, Rudolf Staffel,
John McCoy, and Gary Rich. Bus trips to New York
and Washington were arranged, among them two to
the Whitney Museum to see the Academy's show
Young America. Two student exhibitions were shown
outside the Academy-one at the invitation of the
Aerospace Division of General Electric Company,
and the other in the Moore College of Art Gallery
during the summer months ofthe Bicentennial year.
The annual exhibition of student work merited
favorable comparison with former years. There
were 82 entries in competition for the Cresson,
Schiedt and Ware travel awards. Richard J. Boyle,
Director of the Academy, presented 11 awards
representing $32,000 and more than 30 other prizes
totaling $7,500 at the exercises held at Moore
College at the close of the year. Lewis Iselin,
sculptor and President of the Tiffany Foundation,
was the speaker of the day.
The end of summer school marked the conclusion
of the use of Peale House for summer and evening
school studios. In late June we began preparing to
move back to the Academy building from Arch
Street. To save a month's rental, we had moved all
equipment into partially finished studios, and
offices into unfinished spaces by August 1st. ~ Although workmen still occupied the area, we opened
school on schedule in September.
My retirement, January 31, 1977, as Dean of the
Academy School means that this will be my last

report. Much has happened during the short 71h
years of my second tenure-the first being 1938 to
1942. Yet the basic concepts and values which
prevailed in the 1930's are still in force today
though under greater siege than ever. The academic
degree has become the measure of an artist's
excellence. The university and college have replaced the professional school where pursuit of art
was the only "study". Praised by its friends in
academia, the first art school in America whose
single purpose is to train the talented and dedicated
student, is nevertheless an "endangered species".
The Academy today stands at the crossroads.
Financial support from the private sector and
enlightened leadership is needed if freedom to
provide uninterrupted pure studio practice and
instruction in the arts of painting, drawing,
sculpture and graphics is to be preserved.
Henry Hotz Jr.
Dean of the School

REPORT OF THE CURATOR

The accomplishments of the past year have brought
the Academy deserved national attention. These
accomplishments are the result of the hard work,
cooperation, generosity, and loyalty of many individuals. Each one of them has our thanks.
The Academy's international exhibition, Young
America, seen in London, Glasgow, and Bristol prior
to opening in New York at the Whitney Museum of
American Art (December 10, 1975-February 16,
1976), was enthusiastically received at each stop.
Abroad, it was both an artistic triumph for American art and for the Academy.
When the Academy reopened its museum in
April, the public was greeted with not only a
sparkling architectural transformation, but an
exhibition, the most ambitious in its history, entitled
In This Academy: The Pennsylvania Academy of the
Fine Arts, 1805-1976. In This Academy, the cooperative effort of guest art historians, curators, conservators and designers, identified and celebrated the
Academy's preeminent role in the development of
an American artistic tradition. In This Academy was
partially supported by a grant from the National
Endowment for the Arts. An important part of the
overall exhibition was an emphasis on Pennsylvania
artists which was supported by the Pennsylvania
Bicentennial Commission.
Equally fascinating was the exhibition, Symbols of
Peace: William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, shown
at Peale House, the joint effort of Dickinson College
and the Academy. Symbols of Peace was supported in
part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, but I
would especially like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Meyer
P. Potamkin for their generosity and help.
During this period the Academy continued its
active program in painting conservation under the
able direction of Joseph Amarotico, conservator.

Nineteen works from the permanent collection were
conserved, including Benjamin West's two monumental works, Death on a Pale Horse and Christ
Rejected. Financial assistance from the National
Endowment for the Arts enabled the Academy to
undertake the much-needed conservation of the
Wests. The following works from the Academy's
collection were conserved at a total cost of $24,125:
Joseph Amarotico-Synopsis
Thomas Anshutz-The Tanagra
Margaret Leslie Bush-Brown-Self-Portrait
George Constant-Sea, Sun and Sky
Gustave Courbet-Great Oak of Ornans
Sanford Gifford-St. Peters from the Pincian Hill
Emanuel Leutze-Self-Portrait
William Henry Lippincott-Childish Thoughts
George Luks-The Polish Dancer
Willard Metcalf-The Twin Birches
John Neagle-Miss Anna Gibbon Johnson
Rembrandt Peale-Dominique Denon
William Picknell-Road to Nice
Walter Schofield-Winter
Christian Schussele-Old Man
Florine Stettheimer-Picnic at Bedford Hills
Walter Stuempfig-Return at Six
Benjamin West-Christ Rejected
Benjamin West-Death on a Pale Horse
The Academy will be able to continue this vital
conservation program in its newly refurbished
Jordan Conservation Laboratory, made possible
through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Bertram L.
O'Neill.
.
The Academy was fortunate to receive the following important works of art for its permanent
collection:
Jasper Cropsey, European Landscape, 1867
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kesler

I
Stuart Davis, Sand Cove (gouache on paper)
Bequest of Marie Weeks
Charles Fablen, Speed King, 1975 (sculpture)
Purchased through subscribers to the Marian
Locks benefit exhibition and Mr. and Mrs. Charles
E. Mather III
Sanford Gifford, St. Peters from the Pincian Hill,
1865
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kesler
Sidney Goodman, Two Sisters, 1973 (drawing)
Gift of the Allstate Foundation
Robert Henri, Ruth St. Denis in the Peacock Dance,
1919
Gift of Sameric Corporation in m~mory of Eric
Shapiro
David Johnson, Mt. Marcy, New York, c. 1870
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kesler
John Frederick Kensett, Newport Harbor, R .I., c.
1860-65
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kesler
Franz Kline, Untitled (drawing)
Gift of Gerrish Milliken
John LaFarge, Two opalescent stained glass windows
made for the Grover House, Canton, Massachusetts,
c. 1884
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore T. Newbold in
memory of Louis I. Kahn
William Henry Lippincott, Childish Thoughts, 1895
Gift of Mrs. Mary · Rice
Philip Pearlstein, Model on an African Stool, 1975
Purchased through subscribers to the Marian
Locks benefit exhibition and Mr. and Mrs. Charles
E. Mather III
Severin Roesen, Still Life with Fruit, c. 1860-70
Acquired by exchange through the gift of William
Williamson, and Henry S. McNeil and the Gilpin
Fund

Edward Savage, Penn's Treaty with the Indians, c.
1800-1815
Gift of the Philadelphia Electric Company
William Strickland, New Chestnut Street Theatre
(w /c), 1808
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Jeanes
Andy Warhol, Chairman Mao (silkscreen)
Gift of Marian Locks
Franklin C. Watkins, Angel Turning a Page of the
Book
Gift of Mrs. Herbert C. Morris in memory of Ruth
Kathryn and Emily Millward Morris
Worthington Whittredge, Walking Tour Abroad, c.
1848-58
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kesler
Worthington Whittredge, Flowers in a Blue Vase
(w/c), c. 1896
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kesler
Alexander Wyant, Landscape
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kesler
These are vital additions to the collection. The
Academy is extremely grateful to its many donors
who have made these acquisitions possible. We hope
to continue attracting works of art of this quality,
especially in the area of contemporary American
painting and sculpture.
I would like to thank Louise Lippincott, assistant
curator, for her invaluable assistance in the organization of In This Academy, and to acknowledge the
daily help of my assistant, Marcela de Keyser.
Finally, I would like to thank the Committee on
Collections and Exhibitions, especially the Chairman, Charles E. Mather III. Without such support
and guidance the curatorial tasks would be infinitely
more difficult.
Frank H. Goodyear, Jr.
Curator

REPORT OF THE
WOMEN'S COMMITTEE

The .biggest effort during the winter was spent
preparing for the reopening of the restored building. The Landmark Dinner on April 22nd, the
special opening for Artists and Architects, and the
'Members' Opening on April 23rd, all were the
responsibility of the Women's Committee, with
special thanks to Mmes Gribbel and Thomas, Mmes
West, Behr, and Kaufmann.
The Women's Committee underwrote the
hardback edition of In This Academy, the catalogue
for our Bicentennial Exhibition. A cover letter,
written by Mrs. Greenfield, was sent out with 7500
brochures to museums and libraries in the United
States offering it for sale. (Numbered 1 to 1000, the
catalogues were signed by Richard J. Boyle and
Frank H. Goodyear, Jr.). Catalogue number one was
sent to President Ford and catalogue number two
was sent to Queen Elizabeth II in honor of her visit
to Philadelphia. By the end of the summer, nearly
600 copies were sold.
The Women's Committee, as an adjunct organization of The Pennsylvania Acadt;my of the Fine Arts,
this year in particular sponsored numerous special
events which created interest in the Academy, its
students, and in many cases provided financial
support. The Contemporary Arts Evenings, a series
of lectures given in homes of collectors, were well
attended. Among the speakers were Robert Venturi,
architect, Mrs. H. Gates Lloyd, well-known collector, and Suzanne Delehanty, Director of the Institute
of Contemporary Art.
The Academy "Art Safaris" continue to be successful and popular with the Academy membership.
Four took place this year between January and
April, to Florida, Mexico, Hartford, Connecticut,

and to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri. Owing to
the imagination and hard work of Mrs. Greenfield
and Mrs. Reath, twenty-five safaris have taken place
since they were started, spreading the Academy's
name far and wide, and providing a source of
continuing financial support.
The Committee is also interested in long-term
projects, one of which is the establishment of an
active alumni association. Mrs. Leidner and Mrs.
Preucel are providing a valuable service to the
School by working on the whereabouts and activities
of alumni, starting. with the Fellowship, which has
been extremely helpful.
I regret to record the tragic deaths of two beloved
and valued members of our Committee, Mrs.
William P. Wood and Mrs. Caspar W. B. Townsend,
our treasurer for many years. In their memory we
have established the Women's Committee Memorial
Fund of the Academy, the Mia Wood Floral Fund to
be used for the maintenance of plants in the Furness
building, and the Marie H. Townsend Guest Artist
Fund, which is included within the FacultyEnrichment Program. The respective families, close friends
and members of our Committee have so far generously contributed.
Refreshments play such a large part in our many
activities that, in addition to thanking the Committee members who were involvt;d in these arrangements, I especially want to thank Jim Lulias, of the
Academy staff, without whom our Committee would
be at a standstill.
Mrs. James W. Cooke
President
Women's Committee

"I,

L

STAFF
Richard J. Boyle, Director
Henry Hotz, Jr., Dean of School
Frank H. Goodyear, Jr., Curator
Robert Stubbs, Administrator
Rita P. Damiano, Comptroller
Elizabeth Bailey, Museum Registrar
Elizabeth Kolowrat, Education Director
Alva M Meyers, Development Consultant
Betty Fermanis, Membership Director
Mary Boardman, Public Relations Assistant
Joseph Amarotico, Conservator
Catherine Stover, Archivist
Richard S. Ranck, School Registrar
Kathy Zickler, Manager, Museum Shop
Marietta Bushnell, Librarian
Mary Hopper, Director's Assistant
Patricia Byrne, Dean's Assistant
Marcela de Keyser, Curator's Assistant
Marian E. Lazar, Administrator's Assistant
Pamela Lajeunesse, Museum Registrar's Assistant
Judith Schneider, Bookkeeper
Anna Mang, Receptionist
FACULTY
Joseph Amarotico
Will Barnet
Morris Blackburn
John M. Bolles
Arthur De Costa
Murray Dessner
Adolph Dioda
Tom Ewing
Marshall Glasier
Paul Anthony Greenwood
Oliver Grimley
Robert Beverly Hale
John Hanlen
Alexander Hromych
Homer Johnson
Ben Kamihira
Karl O. Karhumaa
Kimsou
Julian Levi
Jimmy C. Lueders
Lisabeth Marder
William Robert Martone
Daniel D. Miller
Elizabeth Osborne
Henry C. Pearson
Bruce Samuelson
David Slivka
Louis B. Sloan
Francis Speight
Martha Zeit Stanton
Roswell Weidner
AUGMENTING THE CURRICULUM
John W. McCoy
Tania Millicevic
Bill Om wake
Angelo Savelli
J. Franklin Shores
Theodor Siegl*
*deceased

WOMEN'S COMMITTEE
Mrs. James W. Cooke, President
Mrs. L. Talbot Adamson
Mrs. Brandon Barringer
Mrs. Philip H. Behr
Mrs. A very B. Clark
Mrs. Newlin F. Davis
Mrs. T. L. Emory Eysmans
Mrs. Albert M. Greenfield, Jr.
Mrs. John Gribbel 2nd
Mrs. David J. Grossman
Mrs. Harry T. Hare
Mrs. Richard Harkness
Mrs. Henry F. Harris
Mrs. J. H. Ward Hinkson
Mrs. H. Lea Hudson
Mrs. Arthur C. Kaufmann
Mrs. Nelson J. Leidner
Mrs. Howard H. Lewis
Mrs. Hans Ludvig Lorentzen
Mrs. Stuart F. Louchheim
Mrs. Alan McIlvain
Mrs. Charles E. Mather III
Mrs. Harry R. Neilson
Mrs. John S. Newbold
Mrs. Frederick W. G. Peck
Mrs . Robert W. Preucel
Mrs. Evan Randolph
Mrs . George Reath
Mrs . H. Martin Saunders
Mrs. Herbert F. Schiffer
Mrs. James M. R. Sinkler
Mrs. C. Randolph Snowden
Mrs. Boudinot Stimson
Mrs. Harrison Therman
Mrs. E. Robert Thomas
Mrs. Caspar W. B. Townsend*
Mrs. Harry F. West, Jr.
Mrs. Harleston R. Wood
Mrs . William P. Wood*
*deceased
AUDITORS
Graham, Crossan, Horrocks & Co.
COUNSEL
Herbert S. Riband, Jr.
Saul, Ewing, Remick & Saul
PHOTOGRAPHY
Bezushko
Will Brown
Harris & Davis Studios
Sexton Studios
DESIGN
James M. Ellis

non-profit org_
U. S. Postage

PAID
Philadelphia, Pa.
Permit No. 2879

BROAD AND CHERRY STREETS, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19102

Item sets