When I was a child, in the '40s and early '50s, I liked to go to the Addison to see the ancient things - Roman plumbing pipes, Egyptian masks, etc. I wasn't interested in American art. You don't mention the ancient things in the article. What happened to them? And how did they get to the Addison in the first place, if the donor was only interested in art?
Hi Karen, it's interesting you mention that as ancient Egyptian and Roman art are not within the scope of the Addison's collection. You may have seen a visiting exhibition with ancient pieces from different museums. Pieces by non-Americans could be displayed at the Addison but in general could not be part of the gallery's collection.
While Thomas Cochran mostly collected paintings, he held a broad definition of art. He states the following in his Terms of Trust for the gallery: "The word art...may be broadly interpreted by the Board of Trustees as to include any American works of art and craftsmanship in addition to paintings, sculpture, and silver." The original collection included coins, medals, silver, and sculptures, including a couple by Paul Revere.
Very interesting read. When I was young I used to love walking through the gallery looking at all the art work. Gwendolen Young Devoe
When I was a child, in the '40s and early '50s, I liked to go to the Addison to see the ancient things - Roman plumbing pipes, Egyptian masks, etc. I wasn't interested in American art. You don't mention the ancient things in the article. What happened to them? And how did they get to the Addison in the first place, if the donor was only interested in art?
Hi Karen, it's interesting you mention that as ancient Egyptian and Roman art are not within the scope of the Addison's collection. You may have seen a visiting exhibition with ancient pieces from different museums. Pieces by non-Americans could be displayed at the Addison but in general could not be part of the gallery's collection.
While Thomas Cochran mostly collected paintings, he held a broad definition of art. He states the following in his Terms of Trust for the gallery: "The word art...may be broadly interpreted by the Board of Trustees as to include any American works of art and craftsmanship in addition to paintings, sculpture, and silver." The original collection included coins, medals, silver, and sculptures, including a couple by Paul Revere.