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Show E. Frank Sanguinetti (1917-2002), the Man Who Molded the University of Utah Art Museum Sanguinetti knew the importance of M r Sangu netti who spent three decades bu lding the Utah Museum of Fine Arts from musty obscurity into one of the nation's lead ng university art gifts to the museum, having established two charitable museums recently passed away after a brief llness When Sangu nett came to the UMFA 35 years ago the museums 800 artworks were languish ng on the th rd floor of an administration building By the time he stepped down gift annuities during last summer as the only professional director the UMFA had ever known he had acquired his lifetime and some 17 000 pieces and steered the museum nto a new $1 8 m on bu Id ng on the now having the University of Utah campus "The university community mourns the passing museum benefit from his planning of one of Utah's legendary figures in the arts said University of Utah President Bernie Machen 11 collection "He directed a modest art into a world-class collection With the support of generous donors, he has created a legacy that will benefit Utahns for generations to come. A refined and witty man with a contagious enthusiasm for fine art, Sanguinetti 11 and generosity. arrived n Utah n 1967 from his native Arizona. Unimpressed with the UMFA's holdings he did not plan to stay long Nevertheless the businessman-turned-art scholar mmediately began bolstering the museums collection Sangu netti s name soon became synonymous with the museum he ran He personally acquired more than 95 percent of its collection launched its educational programs and lobbied for more gallery space Under Sanguinetti the UMFA became the first university art museum n the western United States to receive accreditation from the American Museum Association Sanguinetti also decided that instead of limiting its scope the museum should collect art from across the centuries and throughout the world Today the UMFA has galleries devoted to Greek antiquities Ch nese vases African sculptures Renaissance paintings and 20th-century American art. Its collection spans some 5 000 years of human creativity and is valued at about $24 million Among Sanguinetti's acquisitions are works by Thomas Gainsborough Pieter Brueghel the Younger· Anthony Van Dyck; Frederic Remington Joan Mir6· and Salvador Dali Sangu nett s ife work cu m nated last June with the open ng of the 7 4 000-square-foot Marcia and John Price Museum Bu lding whose east wing bears his name The occasion left Sangu netti exhausted but elated " am filled with love he told The Salt Lake Tribune last May "Th s is the end II of my career 've absolutely no regrets about anyth ng With space to attract traveling art shows the new UMFA already has been host 11 to exhibitions of scu ptures by French master Auguste Rodin and gowns worn by Princess Diana Sangu netti also knew the mportance of gifts to the museum having established two charitable gift annuities during his lifetime and now having the museum benefit from his planning and generosity © 2002 The Unive rsity of Utah and The Stelter Company @ recycled paper |
