Perry T. Rathbone
Encyclopedia
Perry T. Rathbone was one of the leading American art museum directors of the 20th century. As director of the St. Louis Art Museum from 1940–1955, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
from 1955–1972, he transformed these institutions from quiet repositories of art to vibrant cultural centers. Known for his sensitive installations as well as his bold publicity stunts, he increased the membership and attendance figures of both institutions exponentially, and also added significant works to their permanent collections across the board.
, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1911 and spent his early childhood in New York City where his father, Howard Betts Rathbone, worked as a salesman. His mother, Beatrice Connely Rathbone, was a school nurse. In 1917 the family moved to New Rochelle, N.Y. where Perry and his older brother Westcott attended the local public schools.
Perry entered Harvard College as a freshman in the fall of 1929 with the class of 1933. At Harvard he majored in art history and went on to take the graduate course with Professor Paul Sachs called "Museum Work and Museum Problems," which was responsible for training an entire generation of museum professionals. Rathbone's classmates in the museum course included Henry McIlhenny, Charles Cunningham, John Newberry, and James Plaut.
move to America after the war by securing him a teaching position at Washington University. He was a champion of modern art, and along with Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., stimulated many other collectors of modern art in St. Louis.
In 1955 Rathbone left St. Louis to become director of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In Boston he formed the first "Ladies Committee" for the museum with Frances Weeks Hallowell, a successful strategy for increasing membership. Rathbone staged unprecedented loan exhibitions such as "European Art of Our Time," and "The Age of Rembrandt," renovated more than fifty galleries, and increased the annual sale of publications by 1000 per cent. As temporary head of the paintings department while also serving as the museum's director, he added notable works to the collection such as Rosso Fiorentino's "Dead Christ with Angels," and the anonymous fifteenth century Flemish "Martyrdom of Saint Hippolytus." He also acquired a small portrait thought to be by Raphael, which was subsequently returned to Italy amidst a storm of publicity.
After resigning from the MFA in 1972 Rathbone was made head of the New York offices of Christie's, and in 1977 when the firm began to hold auctions in New York, was made Museums Liaison. He retired in 1985 .
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
from 1955–1972, he transformed these institutions from quiet repositories of art to vibrant cultural centers. Known for his sensitive installations as well as his bold publicity stunts, he increased the membership and attendance figures of both institutions exponentially, and also added significant works to their permanent collections across the board.
Early Years
Rathbone was born in GermantownGermantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...
, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1911 and spent his early childhood in New York City where his father, Howard Betts Rathbone, worked as a salesman. His mother, Beatrice Connely Rathbone, was a school nurse. In 1917 the family moved to New Rochelle, N.Y. where Perry and his older brother Westcott attended the local public schools.
Perry entered Harvard College as a freshman in the fall of 1929 with the class of 1933. At Harvard he majored in art history and went on to take the graduate course with Professor Paul Sachs called "Museum Work and Museum Problems," which was responsible for training an entire generation of museum professionals. Rathbone's classmates in the museum course included Henry McIlhenny, Charles Cunningham, John Newberry, and James Plaut.
Professional Life
Upon completing the museum course in 1934, Rathbone's first job was as a lecturer in the education department of the Detroit Institute of Arts. In 1936 he was appointed curator of Alger House, a branch museum in Grosse Point, Michigan, where he lived with DIA director William Valentiner. In 1939 he assisted Valentiner in organizing the Masterpieces of Art exhibition at the World's Fair in New York. In 1940 Rathbone was appointed director of the St. Louis Art Museum (then the City Art Museum). At age 29, he was the youngest museum director in America. From 1943-45 he served in the U.S. Navy in Washington D.C. as head of combat artists, and in New Caledonia as an officer. Upon returning from New Caledonia he married Euretta de Cosson, a British Ski champion, on Feb. 10, 1945. Three children were born to the Rathbones in St. Louis: Peter (1946), Eliza (1948), and Belinda (1950). Rathbone also was instrumental in helping the German artist Max BeckmannMax Beckmann
Max Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement...
move to America after the war by securing him a teaching position at Washington University. He was a champion of modern art, and along with Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., stimulated many other collectors of modern art in St. Louis.
In 1955 Rathbone left St. Louis to become director of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In Boston he formed the first "Ladies Committee" for the museum with Frances Weeks Hallowell, a successful strategy for increasing membership. Rathbone staged unprecedented loan exhibitions such as "European Art of Our Time," and "The Age of Rembrandt," renovated more than fifty galleries, and increased the annual sale of publications by 1000 per cent. As temporary head of the paintings department while also serving as the museum's director, he added notable works to the collection such as Rosso Fiorentino's "Dead Christ with Angels," and the anonymous fifteenth century Flemish "Martyrdom of Saint Hippolytus." He also acquired a small portrait thought to be by Raphael, which was subsequently returned to Italy amidst a storm of publicity.
After resigning from the MFA in 1972 Rathbone was made head of the New York offices of Christie's, and in 1977 when the firm began to hold auctions in New York, was made Museums Liaison. He retired in 1985 .
Honors
- Honorary Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard University, 1958;
- Honorary Doctor of Arts, Washington University, St. Louis, 1958;
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Northeastern University, 1960;
- Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, Bates College, 1964;
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Williams College, 1970;
- Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, 1982;
- Chevalier de Légion d'Honneur, 1964;
- President, Association of Art Museum Directors, 1959–60, 1969-70.
Selected Bibliography
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "The Rathbone Years," 1972;
- City Art Museum, St. Louis, "Westward the Way," 1955;
- City Art Museum, St. Louis, "Mississippi Panorama," 1950;
- City Art Museum, St. Louis, "Max Beckmann" 1948;
- City Art Museum, St. Louis, "Charles Wimar: Painter of the Indian Frontier," 1946.
External links
- Harvard University archives: [www.oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/-art00021], Rathbone, Perry Townsend, 1911-2000. Papers 1929-1933
- Archives of American Art: [www.aaa.si.edu]>research collections>oral history interviews, oral history interview with Perry Townsend Rathbone, 1975, Aug. 5th.
- [www.aaa.si.edu]>research collections, Perry Townsend Rathbone papers, 1936–1985
- Columbia University Libraries: Reminiscences of Perry Townsend Rathbone: oral history, 1982