| 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.
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