With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Arthur E. 'Chick', Jr. Austin
Education/Curation, Patronage
1900 – 1957
Art patron, museum director, promoter of mid-century Modernist arts and style.
- Biography/Description of Work
Museum director of the Wadsworth Atheneum from 1927 to 1944, he made Hartford a center of Modern art in the 1920s and 1930s. Austin’s visionary gift included persistence in the introduction of modernist art, design, film and theater. A graduate of Harvard University, Austin was among the first professional museum directors in the country. The 1934 Modernist Avery Memorial wing, by Morris & O’Connor architects, was built during his tenure, and was the first museum gallery building to exhibit modern art in a contemporary setting.
- Sources view
- Ransom, David F., Austin House National Register Nomination No. 94001189, National Park Service, 1994, http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/94001189.pdf
Wadsworth Atheneum web site: http://www.thewadsworth.org/collection-2/the-austin-house-2/ - Associated Resource(s)