A Transitional Decade: Georgia Museum of Art in the 1970s

06.01.2023
Phillip Pearlstein's 1970 exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art.

As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our museum, it’s an opportune time to look back at our history. From now until the end of the year, we’ll be featuring a post once a month about the history of the museum through the decades. This month, we take a look at the museum’s presence and history on campus in the 1970s.

In the 1970s, the Georgia Museum of Art continued to become more well-known by patrons, both at home and from afar.  The decade brought changes as the museum transitioned into a more refined and established art venue. These changes started in the late 60s when founding museum director, Alfred H. Holbrook, became director emeritus in 1967 and handed over the reins of museum director to William D. “Bill” Paul Jr., who was appointed as the first curator of the museum in 1967 and before stepping into the role of museum director in full capacity in 1969.

In 1971,  M. Smith “Smitty” Griffith, Bill Paul, Edda Agee and Mel Fuller came together to support the museum and its mission by founding the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art. The founding of this group was integral to other art enthusiasts, patrons and donors to recognize the importance of contributing to the museum’s mission by securing art for the collection and facilitating art education through the museum. Today, this vibrant organization continues to support and contribute to the museum’s mission significantly.

In 1974, at the age of 99, Holbrook died. While his death was marked by loving tributes in the campus newspaper and considerable donations, most mentions of his death noted his zest for life. Having founded a museum, after retiring from law in New York, and working well into his 90s, his fervor for living life to the fullest was duly noted by many.

UGA School of Art namesake Lamar Dodd, according to a June 27, 1974 archive of the Red & Black newspaper, described Holbrook as “an incredible person, unselfish, a man of deepest loyalty to the University.” William Paul, formerly curator and director at the time of Holbrook’s death, said he believed that “without Mr. Holbrook, we surely wouldn’t have a museum.” At the memorial service, Paul eulogized Holbrook saying, “Those of us who have worked closely with Mr. Holbrook have been inspired by his wit, his patience, his knowledge, his will and determination, and and by his enduring conviction that his dream would become reality.”

While the museum had become a part of the campus fabric by the 1970s, there were noted opinions about the museum. The exterior of the building was an eyesore, some said. According to one Red & Black article, a survey of faculty by the college of environmental design ranked the museum building as one of the ugliest buildings on campus. Despite being an eyesore to many, faculty also noted that the murals on the facade of the building have sentimental value, despite being the feature that many said made the building unpleasant aesthetically. Others argued that the museum had much more value, despite its appearance.

The decade is also marked by a growing collection of works. The works, by some accounts, were so numerous that Red & Black editorials lamented that the museum was outgrowing its current facilities. The museum, however, wouldn’t get a new home for its growing collection for a few decades:

One other success of the decade was in 1979, when the museum was accredited for the first time by the American Association of Museums, now known as the American Alliance of Museums. In the museum field, the accreditation is a mark of distinction.

Archive photography from the 1970s at the museum.

So, just what did the decade look like in the galleries? A look back at our archives, with accompanying newspaper archive clips from the Red & Black, shows a unique sampling of artists’ works. Here’s what patrons viewed at the museum throughout the decade:

1970

  • Drawings, Prints, and Constructions by Fahlstrom (January 7 – February 1, 1970)
  • Old Master Drawings from Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lester T. Avnet (January 8 – February 9, 1970)
  • Rodin Bronzes from Collection of B. Gerald Cantor (January 9 – February 9, 1970)
  • Julio Gonzalez Drawings and Sculptures (February 16 – March 15, 1970)
  • Etchings by Rembrandt and His Contemporaries (February 16 – March 16, 1970)
  • Sculptures and Drawings by Gaston Lachaise (March 15 – April 25, 1970)
  • Paintings by Joseph Hirsch (March 20 – May 1, 1970)
  • Candidates for Master of Fine Arts Degree Exhibition (May 5 – May 23, 1970)
  • The Passionate Years: Expressionism in Germany (June 19 – July 31, 1970)
  • Phil Pearlstein (August 20 – November 8, 1970)
  • Spanish Colonial Painting: The Cuzco School (September 20 – November 8, 1970)
  • Recent Works by Gregory Gillepsie (September 20 – November 8, 1970)
  • Lamar Dodd: a Retrospective Exhibition (November 19, 1970 – January 15, 1971)
  • The Mortimer Brandt Collection of Medieval Manuscript Illumination (December 13, 1970 – February 2, 1971)

 

1971

  • Lucas Samaras Drawings (January 15 – February 13, 1971)
  • Soft Images: Photographs by David Ruether (January 22 – February 16, 1971)
  • Selections From the Ferdinand Howald Collection (February 21 – March 21, 1971)
  • New York: New York (March 28 – May 2, 1971)
  • 19th and 20th Century Prints From the Collection (May 30 – July 11, 1971)
  • Candidates for Master of Fine Arts Degree Exhibition (May 1971)
  • Mustache Cups (July 18 – August 15, 1971)
  • Portraits After Anthony Van Dyck (August 29 – November 14, 1971)
  • Durer and His Times (October 10 – November 7, 1971)
  • Photographs by Alfred Eisenstaedt (October 17 – November 14, 1971)
  • Richard Lindner Exhibition (1971)

 

1972

  • American Portraits From National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (April 1972 – September 1973)
  • Robert Barnes Fifty Watercolors (April 2 – April 20, 1972)
  • 20th Century Portraits From the Museum of Modern Art(April 2 – May 7, 1972)
  • The Racetrack World: Paintings by Lee Townsend (June 4 – July 9, 1972)
  • A is for Animal, Aardvark and Art (August 20 – September 10, 1972)
  • The Realist Revival (October 29 – November 19, 1972)
  • Drawn From Nature/Drawn From Life: Church, Homer, and Huntington (November 19 – December 17, 1972)
  • Geometric Abstractions of the 1930s (November 5 – December 20, 1972)

1973

  • Prints of James Ensor From Collection of H. Shickman (January 14 – February 11, 1973)
  • Edmund W. Greacen, N.A.: American Impressionist, 1876-1949 (January 7 – January 28, 1973)
  • Sculptures of George Kolbe From Gerald Cantor (January 14 – February 18, 1973)
  • Nazi Drawings by Mauricio Lasansky (January 14 – February 11, 1973)
  • Sculpture by William King (March 4 – April 1, 1973)
  • Rauel Tchelitchew Early Drawings, Gouaches, and Theatre Designs (March 4 – April 1, 1973)
  • Athens Art Association Member’s Seventeenth Exhibition (June 17 – July 15, 1973)
  • Vulliard Graphics: Collection of Antoine Salomon (September 15 – October 15, 1973)
  • Bonnard: Drawings From 1893 – 1946 (September 23 – November 4, 1973)

 

1974

  • The Prints of Richard Hamilton (January 13 – February 10, 1974)
  •  Alice Trumbull Mason (January 13 – February 10, 1974)
  • Drawings by Charles E. Burchfield: Charles R. Penney Collection (April 7 – May 5, 1974)
  • Candidates for Master of Fine Arts Degree Exhibition (May 19 – June 2, 1974)
  • Alexander Archipenko Sculpture Reclining Torso #2 (June 14 – October 7, 1974) (approx.)
  • Clinton Adams/Garo Antreasian (June 9 – June 30, 1974)
  • Watercolors and Drawings From the Museum Collection (July 15 – August 25, 1974)
  • Master Drawings From Sacramento (October 27 – December 8, 1974)

 

1975

  • Manguin in America (February 23 – March 30, 1975)
  • Revealed Masters: 19th Century American Art (April 6 – May 4, 1975)
  • Candidates for Master of Fine Arts Degree Exhibition (May 11 – June 1, 1975)
  • Japanese Art: Selection From the Holbrook Collection and Anonymous Loans (June 8 – July 13, 1975)
  • Flying Colors (July 20 – September 2, 1975)
  • Willem De Kooning: Lithographs, 1970-72 (September 7 – October 19, 1975)

 

1976

  • Social Harp Singing (February 22 1976 – February 26, 1978)
  • Paintings and Lithographs by Albert Christ-Janer (February 22 – March 28, 1978)
  • Decorative Arts of the Georgia Piedmont Before 1865 (July 4 – August 1, 1976)
  • Eighteen Contemporary Artists (September 26 – October 24, 1976)
  • Lithographs by John Steuart Curry (October 3 – October 24, 1976)
  • Paintings and Drawings and Lithographs by Jean Charlot (October 31 – December 5, 1976)
  • Children and Their Art (December 12 – December 24, 1976)

1977

  • 15th Annual Arbor Film Festival (May 6 – May 8, 1977)
  • Danish Expressions in Textiles (October 16 – November 20, 1977)
  • The Cuzco Circle (October 23 – December 4, 1977)

1978

  • Photographs by Wright Morris (February 5 – March 5, 1978)
  • Photographs of Moholy-Nogy (March 5 – April 16, 1978)
  • Gregory Gillespie (April 23 – May 14, 1978)
  • Pol Bury (September 12 – October 22, 1978)
  • George Grosz: Works in Oil (October 29 – December 3, 1978)
  • Jiri Kolar: Transformations (October 29 – December 3, 1978)
  • Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, 1882 – 1945 (December 10, 1978 – January 21, 1979)

 

1979

  • West Meets East: Impressionism in 19th Century Prints (January 28 – March 4, 1979)

 

Authored by:

Jessica Luton