from the DIRECTOR
You may not all have heard the news by now, but I will retire as director of the Georgia Museum of Art at the end of March 2023, and in the spirit of learning where we have been so that we can better plan where we are going, I present to you here a little history of the Friends of the Museum. Bill Paul, the director of the museum at the time the Friends’ organization was founded in the fiscal/ academic years of 1971 – 72, related to me that the creation of the Friends was his idea, based on a pro- gram at the Nelson Gallery. It was embraced by Mel Fuller, Smitty Griffith and Edda Agee, who enthusi - astically promoted as the organization’s first event a retrospective exhibition of works by John Sloan organized by John Bullard and others at the National Gallery of Art. We have already begun preparations for our 75th anniversary, but some confusion may develop regarding the date of our opening. The Georgia Museum of Art existed conceptually in 1945, the same year in which Alfred Heber Holbrook donated the Eva Underhill Memorial Collection of American Art to the University of Georgia. But it did not open to the public (in the university’s old library) until November 8, 1948, the anniversary of Eva Underhill Holbrook’s 80th birthday, and the date we count as our birthday. Mr. Holbrook understood back in 1945 that the university would build a museum—a phys- ical presence—for his collection, and his spirit and influence pervade every part of this building.
Under the continuing influence of such directors as Holbrook and Paul, we stay busy at the museum, and we just get busier and busier. Due to the staff’s hard work we continue to receive good to excellent reviews for our exhibitions, publications and pro- grams. Our volunteers remain engaged, enthusi- astic and excited. When I think back on these last few years of pandemic, war and political and social turbulence, I am especially proud of this museum’s family, a village of patrons, donors and supporters— in short, FRIENDS , in bold letters, all upper case. That group is notable for its loyalty to and under- standing of our mission, one that includes serving all the people of Georgia. Over Fiscal Year 2022, which concluded at the end of June, we welcomed 31,349 visitors (more than dou- ble last year’s total). Our website visitation grew by 32.5 percent and our social media followers by near- ly 11 percent. We opened 12 exhibitions and hosted 109 UGA tours and classes, 70 tours for other public and private groups and 66 tours for K – 12 students. Our education team put together 52 workshops and classes that served well over 1,000 participants and 32 youth and family programs that attracted 2,615 participants. In addition they served 2,500 people at after-school programs, career days and commu- nity festivals and distributed over 3,500 to-go art kits to K-12, family and community audiences. Mr. Holbrook was ambitious, but even he could not have foreseen how thoroughly this museum has embod- ied the mission with which he founded it.
William Underwood Eiland, Director
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