board of ADVISORS
Ibby Mills David Mulkey
B. Heyward Allen Jr. * Rinne Allen Amalia K. Amaki ** June M. Ball Linda N. Beard Karen L. Benson ** Richard E. Berkowitz Sally Bradley Jeanne L. Berry Devereux C. Burch * Robert E. Burton ** Debra C. Callaway ** Shannon I. Candler *
Carl. W. Mullis III * Betty R. Myrtle ** Gloria B. Norris *** Deborah L. O’Kain Randall S. Ott Gordhan L. Patel, chair Janet W. Patterson Christopher R. Peterson Kathy B. Prescott Rowland A. Radford Jr. * Annemarie S. Reynolds *** Margaret A. Rolando * Julie M. Roth Alan F. Rothschild * Jan E. Roush Bert Russo Sarah P. Sams **
As you all know, 2020 was a year of social strife, of a deadly plague and of acrimony among our elected officials. At times I thought I was living in the 14th century, ca. 1353, in fact. But in spite of the numerous pandemics of that century, some historians and commentators see those years as the real beginning of the Renaissance, our era that begins with Giotto, even Cimabue before him and has yet to end; that in the history of aesthetics, it never ended. It continues through renascences of ideas, of theories, of techniques, in short, of aesthetic metamorphosis — a constant, centuries-old refashioning, if you will, of the beautiful. Today, the provocative, the edgy, the charged, even at times the incendiary take on a certain worth and distinction; the word most dreaded if not despised by contemporary theorists, comes to mind: quality. So, let’s put aside for a minute the truly bad things that happened to us all and to the museum, in particular, our having to close for so long, and concentrate on our achievements during the past 10 or so months: with our programming we rapidly adapted to multiple realities, pri- marily virtual, but also we very occasionally held controlled tours of our exhibitions and collections; we offered programs of well-being, such as yoga classes and mindfulness in our galleries, and happily, we were able to open our auditorium, even our parking lot, to classes of students, who needed contact with each other as well as with graphite and charcoal, with oil and pastel. Our auditorium we offered to the School of Music for classes in vocal performance. Those of us in the lobby occasionally could hear “La Donna è mobile,” “Nessun dorma,” or most appropriately of all, “Vissi d’arte.” To help us deal with the financial exigencies of COVID-19, our donors, our Friends, our patrons stepped into the breach and helped us with funds for general operating support. Thank God for them and for their helping us to reopen and to remain with free entry. We have since begun a campaign, our Fund for the Future, to assure that we remain open even in times of financial exigency — and equally im- portant, that we have gratis entry for all to the state museum of art. During the annus horribilis of the escalating pandemic, the University of Georgia “stepped in and up,” allowed us to keep our staff intact and sal- aried and demonstrated real leadership and generosity in fighting COVID on campus. So, in spite of the complications or difficulties of 2020, I want to thank the university as it allowed us, as a primary resource in visual-arts ed- ucation, to continue our work, to engage our community and to prepare for this year, with its varied exhibitions. These exhibitions, publications and others to come are evidence that our curators, educators, designers/ preparators, gallery attendants, editors, registrars, etc. all may have had to work remotely, but work we did, for now and for the future of the Georgia Museum of Art.
Faye S. Chambers Harvey J. Coleman Sharon Cooper James Cunningham Martha Randolph Daura *** Annie Laurie Dodd *** Sally Dorsey ** Howard F. Elkins Judith A. Ellis Todd Emily James B. Fleece Phoebe Forio *** John M. Greene ** Helen C. Griffith ** Barbara Guillaume Judith F. Hernstadt Marion E. Jarrell ** Jane Compton Johnson * George-Ann Knox * Shell H. Knox * Andrew Littlejohn D. Hamilton Magill David W. Matheny, chair-elect Mark G. McConnell
D. Jack Sawyer Jr. * Henry C. Schwob ** Mr. Ronald K. Shelp Margaret R. Spalding Dudley R. Stevens Carolyn Tanner **
Anne Wall Thomas *** Brenda A. Thompson, immediate past chair William E. Torres C. Noel Wadsworth * Carol V. Winthrop Gregory Ann Woodruff Ex-Officio Lacy Camp Linda C. Chesnut William Underwood Eiland S. Jack Hu Kelly Kerner Marisa Pagnatarro
Marilyn M. McMullan Marilyn D. McNeely
* Lifetime member
** Emeritus member
*** Honorary member
Mission Statement: The Georgia Museum of Art shares the mission of the University of Georgia to support and to promote teaching, research and service. Specifically, as a repos- itory and educational instrument of the visual arts, the museum exists to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret significant works of art. Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The Georgia Council for the Arts also receives support from its partner agency, the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is ADA compliant; the M. Smith Griffith Auditorium is equipped for deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors. The University of Georgia does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic informa- tion or military service in its administrations of educational policies, programs or activities; its admissions policies; scholarship and loan programs; athletic or other University-admin- istered programs; or employment. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the Equal Opportunity Office 119 Holmes-Hunter Academic Building, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Telephone 706-542-7912 (V/TDD). Fax 706-542-2822. https://eoo.uga.edu/
WilliamU. Eiland, Director
We thank the Landon Family Foundation for operating support.
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