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RENOVATED AND EXPANDED UOMA TO OFFER INNOVATIVE RESEARCH CENTER: Gordon Gilkey Research Center The
Gordon Gilkey Research Center will be located in the museum’s new
expansion east of the glorious Prince
Lucien Campbell Courtyard. Named for Gordon W. Gilkey (1912
- 2000), the study of prints, drawings, and photographs is an intimately
designed space that reflects Gilkey’s involvement in the arts and
his tremendous impact on the art world, at a local level as well as
internationally. In 1936 Gilkey was the first recipient of the MFA degree awarded at the University of Oregon. In 1957 he was awarded the Arts D. (Honoris Causa) at Lewis and Clark College. He was an official etcher of the New York’s World’s Fair from1937-1939, and during World War II, founded an international program for the protection of art. |
         
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As a result of his instigation, Gilkey was appointed chief of the U.S. War Department Special Staff Art Projects in Europe. He was responsible for locating artworks throughout Europe, and negotiating for their care and protection. Returning to Oregon in 1947, Gilkey became professor of Fine Arts at Oregon State University. He eventually was promoted to Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and later, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. After retirement he became the Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Portland Art Museum in 1978. The new
Gordon Gilkey Research Center at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
will display artworks, store our collections in custom print cases,
and be made accessible to the public for intimate study. Although
the research center is modest in scale, and falls in the shadow of the
man it recognizes, its purpose to preserve art, to educate, and to advocate
for the importance of art in our lives is in keeping with Gordon Gilkey’s
tremendous contributions to the art world. |
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