Marion Koogler McNay
Marion Koogler McNay | |
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![]() Marion Koogler McNay, 1915 | |
Born | Jessie Marion Koogler 7 February 1883 |
Died | 13 April 1950 San Antonio, Texas, United States | (aged 67)
Known for | Painter |
Marion Koogler McNay (7 February 1883 – 13 April 1950), was an American
Early life
Marion was born in Ohio to Dr. Marion and Clara Koogler. McNay was their only child. A year after her birth the family moved to El Dorado, Kansas, where her parents invested and purchased a large tract of pasture land. This land later proved to contain substantial oil reserves, and made the family wealthy.[2] This allowed Marion to attend the University of Kansas from 1900 to 1902 and the Art Institute of Chicago. When her parents retired in Marion, Ohio she moved back to her home state. The San Antonio mansion she had built in 1926 after McNay's inheritance was designed by Atlee and Robert Ayres on an acreage called Sunset Hills, and was finished in 1929.[4]
Marriages
Marion married her first husband, railway manager and sergeant Don McNay, in 1917. He died ten months later from the
Teaching
In 1915, the superintendent of the city schools of Marion, Ohio wrote that she was "one of the best qualified art teachers I have ever known. She teaches art in a manner that arouses and develops the child's observation and enlarges his aesthetic nature.[7]" McNay was an avid supporter of the academic pursuit of the arts throughout her life. In 1942, she offered the use of an unused aviary on her property to the San Antonio Art Institute, so that the school did not have to close. Her friend and collaborator, sculptor Charles Umlauf, said that she "always had the sympathy of the artist at hand because she herself was an artist".[3] In the later years of McNay's life she served as the director of the San Antonio Art Institute, which eventually closed in 1990, forty years after her death.[citation needed]
Art collecting
In 1926, after the death of her father, Marion moved to
Pueblo Indian patronage
Marion was a significant patron of the arts of the
Death and legacy
Upon her death, Marion left her art collection of more than 700 works of art, her mansion, the surrounding 23 acres of land, and an endowment to establish the first modern art museum in Texas.[9] This was the first museum of its kind in San Antonio and the southwest region of the United States. The museum was named to recognize and honor Marion and has been considered the centerpiece of San Antonio art community and culture. The museum has expanded to include galleries of medieval and Renaissance artwork and a larger collection of 20th-century European and American modernist work. A large theatre arts library and gallery were also added, as well as an art reference library and an auditorium. In 2008, the Stieren Center was added to the original building by internationally-renowned architect Jean-Paul Viguier to create additional gallery space for large-scale and traveling exhibitions.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Marion Koogler McNay, Handbook of Texas Online, University of Texas at Austin, 2001-06-01. Accessed 2007-10-08.
- ^ a b c d e Burkhalter, Lois Wood. Marion Koogler McNay: A Biography, 1883-1950 (San Antonio: Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, 1968)
- ^ a b c d "Marion Koogler McNay". Humanities Texas. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
- ^ BURKHALTER, LOIS WOOD (2010-06-15). "MCNAY, JESSIE MARION KOOGLER". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
- ^ Bennett, Steve (2015-05-03). "McNay a centerpiece of S.A. culture". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
- ISBN 0826321097.
- ^ a b c Biography. "Dedicated to the Advancement and the Enjoyment of Modern Art." Teacher Resource Center at the McNay Art Museum. [1]
- ^ Marion Koogler McNay Archived 2006-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, Fine Art Dealers' Association. Accessed 2007-10-08.
- ^ Silva, Elda (2017-05-27). "Founder's bequest continues to shape McNay Art Museum". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
External links
- The McNay Art Museum
- Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute records, 1955-1981 at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art