| Description |
In April 2003, an assessment of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts was completed. The results of the assessment revealed that there were substantially differing accounts of the museum's history. This study raised a critical question: What is the history of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts? The last few years of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts's history are fresh in the minds of staff and patrons. The E. Frank Sanguinetti years (1967-2002) represent a period in the museum's history in which there are detailed records of events, records of acquisitions, and a reasonably complete historical account of operations. However, an accurate history of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts before 1967 has been missing. For example, two former directors of the institution, Elizabeth Anderson and William E. Steadman, Jr., are reported for the first time in this thesis. Accepted references to leadership of the museum before 1967 point to A. Ray Olpin (1946-1964). During his tenure, Olpin rallied support for the museum by remodeling the top floor of the Park Building in 1951. Confusingly, the remodeling date of the museum also became the accepted creation date for the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. The Utah Museum of Fine Arts began with the establishment of an official art gallery on the upper floor of the Park Building in 1914. Museum operations were formalized through the formation of an art guild, the curation of a permanent collection, the display of prominent visiting exhibitions, the regular acquisition of works of art, and the training of gallery staff in museum management. In 1914, the foundation of the museum was inspired by a cultural belief in the importance of art and museums. Many early Utah settlers were from Europe; thus, they were familiar with the great art museums throughout the world. What is the "actual" history of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts? Previously, the history was incomplete. Current research has provided new and exciting findings, the most important of which is that the Utah Museum of Fine Arts began in 1914, not 1951. |
