Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum

by Evan H. Turner (Editor)

"The greater part of the Cleveland Museum's existence has been dominated by two brilliant Directors, each quite different in character, but absolutely comparable in their dedication to the Museum's goals. So we chose to pursue this version of the Museum's history in terms of the accomplishments occurring under each of the Museum's four Directors, concentrating primarily upon the first three, Frederic Allen Whiting (1913-1930), William S. Milliken (1930-1958), and Sherman E. Lee (1958-1983). The essay on each man's directorship was written by a person who seemed particularly appropriate. As it turned out, one of the most interesting results of this handling of the Museum's story is the differing approaches of the authors to their subjects; the thoughtful reader can therefore adopt the point of view characterizing one account and consider each of the other periods similarly. Ultimately, the goal has been to present the facts so that readers can define their own picture of the Museum's history." From the preface.

204 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1991