|
IN MEMORIAM
MARIAN
B. DAVIS
One of the founding members of the art history
program at The University of Texas at Austin, Marian B. Davis, died
October 26, 2000, due to complications resulting from a fall. She
was born September 24, 1911.
Davis graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Mary
Institute in 1932 and earned an MA in art history from Washington
University in St. Louis in 1935. She was the Alice Longfellow Fellow
at Radcliffe College in 1940-1941, and received a PhD at Harvard University
in 1948. She worked at the Worcester Art Museum from 1941 to 1944
before moving to Austin to teach. In 1945, Davis was appointed assistant
professor at The University of Texas; in 1960 she earned the rank
of professor. Although she taught many different subjects, her primary
field was Renaissance and Baroque art. Davis retired as professor
emeritus in 1978. Her teaching inspired thousands of students.
Dr. Davis contributed
greatly to the development of art history at the University. She engineered
the creation of a BA degree in art history in the late 1950s, the
master's program in 1963, and, about a decade later, the doctoral
program. Known for her fierce determination and high standards, Davis
fought for these programs, for the continued growth of the art history
faculty, and for the development of the Visual Resources Collection.
The latter is, today, perhaps the finest university slide collection
in America. At different times, Davis was the chief curator of the
Art Museum, later renamed the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery and
today the Blanton Museum of Art. Under her aegis, the museum evolved
into a professional organization noted then for its ambitious program
of temporary exhibitions.
Dr.
Davis was an active scholar. Her publications include The Aegean
Series: A Selection of Paintings
(1967), Photographs by
Eugene Atget from the Collection of Bernice Abbott
(1967), The Sixties: A Collection of Paintings from the
James A. Michener Collection of the University of Texas at Austin
(1971), Swiss Concrete Art in Graphics
(1975), and numerous articles and reviews. Davis served on the board
of directors of the College Art Association, the discipline's leading
professional organization, from 1951 to 1955. Following her retirement,
she was active with the Austin-Travis County Collection, the Austin
History Center, and Reading for the Blind. In the early 1980s, the
Marian B. Davis Endowed Scholarship in Art History was established
to continue Dr. Davis's legacy of helping students at the University.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by Professor
Jeffrey Chipps Smith.
|
