art meets world - The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum - Florida ...

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DAHLIA MORGAN: PORTRAIT OF A LIFE IN ART Before there was Art Basel Miami Beach, the Wynwood art district or the countless other venues that bring art to Miami, there was Dahlia Morgan. When people in Miami’s art community think of the Frost Art Museum at FIU, they inevitably think of her. For nearly 30 years, Morgan infused the Frost with her style and flair as a trail-blazing art maven, and in the process became a local art institution in her own right. As visitors and members of the Frost explore its new building, they will find the Dahlia Morgan Members’ Lounge, a tranquil space overlooking the pond at the rear of the building and the campus beyond – a tribute to the woman who took a small university gallery and developed one of South Florida’s best museums. It is a fitting tribute, given Morgan’s commitment to Frost members and to building a loyal membership base over the years. “A museum’s strength lies in its members – their faith in its leadership and belief in what’s possible,” said Carol Damian, director and chief curator of the Frost. “Dahlia understood that.” Morgan’s passion for art, characteristic drive and zeal made her the top choice to lead the Frost when founder Jim Couper decided to return to teaching in 1980. “Dahlia was the right person at the right time,” Couper said. Four years after Morgan became director, the original gallery space had evolved from the Visual Arts Gallery to the Art Museum at FIU. For long-time members of the gallery, it was not just the cuttingedge exhibitions Morgan brought to Miami, but her passion and excitement that first attracted them to a small gallery located in what was then viewed as the hinterlands of the county. “Before you knew it you were talking to people and telling them to join,” said Connoisseur member and long-time friend, Lois Rukeyser. “She made the membership grow to an unbelievable amount of people who followed her.” Rukeyser believes that member loyalty to Morgan and to the institution over so many years reveals the most about Dahlia’s work as director. “You stay because you feel the dedication in what you’re getting back,” she said. “That should tell you something.” 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 16 Latin American & Caribbean Lecture Series Begins Museum Receives American Association of Museums Accreditation Exhibitions: Luis Jiménez Working Class Heroes - Images from Popular Culture, Exhibits USA José Bedia Critics’ Lectures: Keith Davis Susan Stamberg Exhibitions: American Art Today: Fantasies & Curiosities Critics’ Lectures: Barbara Haskell Arnold Lehman Museum Becomes a Smithsonian Affiliate Exhibitions: Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum Faces of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African Americas Arte Latino: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum Critics’ Lectures: Arlo Guthrie Critics’ Lectures: Pierre Rosenberg Julia Platt Herzberg Harald Szeemann The Building of the New Frost Art Museum Begins Exhibitions: American Art Today: Faces & Figures The Land Through a Lens: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum Critics’ Lectures: Dave Hickey
Morgan remembers that the first members of the museum were actually part of a group of friends and art enthusiasts who were attracted to the exhibitions and speakers. “They came to me and said we want to establish a Friends group for the museum,” she said. They held an informal reception and the museum’s membership base was born. “It was an adventure,” Morgan says of her years as director. “You had to be beyond entrepreneurial… I had three jobs – director, chief curator and fundraiser.” “We had a great vision as a group,” she says of her staff. “We were a tiny band of loyal and determined people for many years.” Morgan sought and received museum accreditation from the American Association of Museums (AAM) in 1999. Just two years later, in 2001, at her urging, the entire university signed an agreement with the Smithsonian Institution that provides use of Smithsonian resources and institutions. The affiliation between the two was the first of its kind in the United States. Under her direction, the museum has given Miami more than 200 exhibitions attracting varied audiences and respect from local and international critics. Exhibitions of work by Alfred Stieglitz, Marcel Duchamp, Louise Bourgeois, and others which at that time were only presented in New York and Europe, were a triumph for Morgan and the museum at FIU. In addition, the museum was one of the first to highlight the works of young Latin American artists including Agustin Fernandez, at a time when they were just beginning to be well known. The museum garnered recognition with its important exhibitions as well as its programs. With the Steven & Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series, Morgan brought to South Florida some of the best and brightest in the art world. This series has introduced Miami to such distinguished lecturers as Michael Graves, Philippe de Montebello, Claes Oldenburg, George Segal, Robert Hughes and many other famed artists, museum curators, scholars and critics. “You had to get there early or you wouldn’t get a seat,” Rukeyser said. They were free to anyone in the city, and they were outstanding. Tom Wolfe, Art Spiegelman John Richardson…Where would you ever get an opportunity to do that? In New York you have to pay for everything.” Not only did Morgan bring important critics and art world luminaries to the Frost, she became a popular speaker with her own lecture series, the Dahlia Morgan Lecture Series, for members. The series gave members a chance to increase their knowledge of art and art history. “Dahlia has been my teacher and my mentor,” said Patricia Strawgate, a Connoisseur and one of the first museum members. “I have learned more from Dahlia than from all my humanities classes in college.” However, despite all of these accomplishments the museum lacked the space to exhibit larger pieces and shows and to store its growing permanent collection. Morgan’s dream was to build a stand-alone museum, and she worked to raise the necessary funding. A gift from Patricia and Phillip Frost set the project on its way. In 2003, the museum was renamed in their honor, and construction began in 2004. “It was her vision, her input into every aspect of its design and construction, and her extraordinary gift for convincing others to get involved and give substantial donations,” Damian said. “Dahlia Morgan is our Director Emerita,” Damian added, “but that honorary title really does not do justice to describe her years of work as director that culminated in this amazing building. ” 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Exhibition: Vision Revealed: Selections from the Work of Abelardo Morell Lespri Endepandan: Discovering Haitian Sculpture Critics’ Lectures: Terry Gross Vision Revealed Tours Latin America Exhibitions: Mark Klett: Ideas About Time The Saint Makers: A Living Tradition in American Folk Art Critics’ Lectures: Carlos Fuentes Guillermo Gómez-Peña Exhibitions: Ruben Torres-Llorca A Room of One’s Own Critics’ Lectures: Glenn Lowry Art Smart Program Begins Exhibition: Pip Brant: The Flying Carpet and Other Reusables Critics’ Lectures: Maya Lin The new Frost Art Museum opens to the public. Carol Damian, professor and former chairperson of FIU’s School of Art + Art History, is named director and chief curator. Critics’ Lectures: David Adjaye Exhibitions: Modern Masters from the Smithsonian American Art Museum 17 The Figure Past and Present
Page 1 and 2: Volume 1 | Fall/Winter 2008 MEMBER
Page 3 and 4: DIRECTOR’S VIEW Dear MemberS, Whe
Page 5 and 6: Charles Ginnever Fourth Bridge, 197
Page 7 and 8: SIMULACRA AND ESSENCE: THE PAINTING
Page 9 and 10: ANDREW REACH: FULL CIRCLE Xavier Co
Page 11 and 12: 3 KENAN-FLAGLER FAMILY DISCOVERY GA
Page 13 and 14: 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Criti
Page 15: mentoring helped her to overcome he
Page 19 and 20: TARGET WEDNESDAY AFTER HOURS SERIES
Page 21 and 22: EDUCATION FROST IS NEW HOME OF MUSE
Page 23 and 24: Arthur Dunkelman and Patricia Frost
Page 25 and 26: SECOND FLOOR WILLIAM R. KENAN, JR.
Page 27 and 28: MEMBERS & DONORS UNIVERSITY COMMUNI
Page 29 and 30: MEMBERS & DONORS Norman Gorson Bett
Page 31 and 32: Southeastern College Art Conference

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