Connecticut College Alumnae News, March 1964
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Connecticut College Digital Commons @ Connecticut College Linda Lear Center for Special Collections & Alumni News Archives 3-1964 Connecticut College Alumnae News, March 1964 Connecticut College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/alumnews Recommended Citation Connecticut College, "Connecticut College Alumnae News, March 1964" (1964). Alumni News. 148. https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/alumnews/148 This Magazine is brought to you for free and open access by the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections & Archives at Digital Commons @ Connecticut College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Alumni News by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Connecticut College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author. Connecticut College Alumnae News OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE CONNECTICUT COLLEGE ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION Executive Board of the VOLUME XLI Alumnae Association NUMBER 2 MARCH 1964 President: ELIZABETH J. DUTTON '47 First Vice President: 4 CC's Four Resident Artists / by Marcia Bernstein ELIZABETH ROCKWELL CESARE '52 Siegel '54 Second Vice President: ELEANOR HINE KRANZ '34 10 A Brief History of the Art Department / by Secretary: ROLDAH NORTHUP CAMERON '51 William A. McCloy T1'e4SUrer: MARJORIE LAWRENCE WEIDIG '45 13 Studio Work Directors: JANET BOOMER BARNARD '29 EDITH PATTON CRANSHAW '41 16 How to Run a Museum / by Jane Hayward WINIFRED FRANK HAVELL '38 MARY ANN WOODARD THOMP- 20 English Baroque as seen in the works of Sir James SON '50 Thornhill / by Edgar deN. Mayhew Trustees: JANET M. PAINE '27 CAROL 1. CHAPPELL '41 23 Letters to the Editor WINIFRED NIES NORTHCOTT '38 27 Class Notes Chairma1J, of Alum'nae Fund: PATRICIA WERTHEIM ABRAMS '60 Chairman of Nomi124ting Committee: Cover Print JANET FLETCHER ELLRODT '41 "The WaH III" 1964 Chairman of Finance Committee: color intaglio PRISCILLA PASCO '39 by WILLIAM ASHBY McCLOY Chairman Chairman, of Scholarship Committee: Department of Art WINIFRED NIES NORTHCOTT '38 Executive Secretary: Editor: CHARLOTTE BECKWITH CRANE '25 Connecticut College CORINNE MANNING BLACK '47, 182 Western Way, Princeton, N. ]. Published by the Connecticut College Alumnae As- sociarion at Sykes Alumnae Center, Connecticut Editorial Board: College. New London, Conn., four times a year in December, March, May and August. Subscription MARION VIBERT CLARK '24, Class Notes Editor prrce $2 per year. Second-cjas- postage paid at MARJORIE LAWRENCE WEIDIG '45, Business lHIZ11ager Princeton, New Jersey. Send Form 3579 to Sykes ROLDAH NORTHUP CAMERON '51 Alumnae Center, Connecticut College New london Connecticut. AAC Member. ' , RUBY ZA<50REN SILVERSTEIN '43 RHODA MELTZER GILlNSKY '49 INTRODUCING THE ART DEPARTMENT "Each of these artists has a highly individual approach to his own work; each ... is a distinct artistic personality." CC's Four Resident Artists By MARCIA BERNSTEIN SIEGEL '54 FOUR resident artists on ?ne relatively. s:nall. liberal humanitarianism and conflict. Other recent themes have arts campus is somethmg of a distinction. It been Climax and Death. When developing one of these is a distinction claimed by Connecticut College. Stu- themes, Mr. McCloy works our a series of symbols that dents in the art department have an opportunity to study mayor may not be obvious to the viewer of the paintings. painting, drawing, sculpture and print making with four "1 paint to clarify my own feelings," he says, "not to professionals who are recognized practitioners of modern communicate ideas. People usually can't identify the sym- art. Each of these artists has a highly individual approach bols in my paintings. If they do, something's wrong; (Q his own work; each of them is a distinct artistic per- they're looking for something. A painting's reason for sonality. Yet there are many points of similarity among being is in a sense irrelevant for other people. If you them with respect co their approach to teaching. look too hard for specific symbols, you can't see the paint- Chairman William Ashby McCloy's thoughtful analyses ing for what it is. The ultimate communication has cocome of art and education seem to pervade the department from the nature or form of the whole work of art." without diminishing the visionary climate that is associ. Except for two brief, accidental excursions into psy- aced with the rrue artist. His reserved, scholarly looks chology, William McCloy has been an artist-and an art belie a creative drive and excitement which find their teacher-all his life. The first of these diversions, he outlet in his paintings. explained recently, began when he was offered a graduare For several years he has been doing collages, which he assistantship in psychology at the University of Iowa. After prefers to call paintings, since he uses fabrics and textures receiving a master's degree, with a thesis on the psy- as one would use a brush, to create the picture, nor to chology of creativity in children, he returned to his embellish it. Many of his collages are on display in original field. During World War II he found himself college offices and faculty homes, as are the more repre- doing psychiatric counselling for the Army. "1 learned sentational, brilliantly colored murals and portraits of a a great deal about what goes on in the American mind," few years ago. His affectionate and provocative portrait he says of this experience. of Miss Park hangs in the upper lobby of Crozier-Wil- liams. In the last several months Mr. McCloy has been Art Among the Liberal Arts working with sculpture in steel, and he currently teaches a class in sculpture. What place has the creative artist in a liberal artS Mr. McCloy calls himself an expressionistic painter. college? Mr. McCloy feels that with the increasing tendency He works in series, sometimes spending months on a of professional art education to move up to the graduate single theme which fascinates him. His current preoccupa- level, the undergraduate liberal arts colleges have had tion is with what he calls The Wall, referring to the to accept the responsibility for the bulk of the art train- Berlin Wall, with its complex interrelated ideas of ing that young people receive. "The colleges have accepted 4 CONNECfICUT COLLEGE ALUMNAE NEWS Photos by Pert'y Studio! CHAIRMAN WILLIAM ASHBY McCLOY's thoughtful analyses of art and education seem to pervade the De- partment without diminishing the visionary climate that is associated with the true artist. His reserved, scholarly looks belie a creative drive and excitement which find their outlet in his paintings. this responsibility," he commented recently, "but changes Cloy feels, is not to produce the professional sculptor or are still needed. We need more time with the students. painter. "We are aiming for a hard, skeptical criticism," Art departments in colleges are forced to substitute ideas he said. "An art department in a liberal arts college for direct experience. We're inclined to shift to projects does not exist to provide audiences-in the sense of peo- which illustrate experience because the students have no ple with a veneration for tradition. Its real function is rime to work out the experience for themselves. We get to focus more attention on the individual, on her responsi- a lot of idea paintings that are nor fully realized." bility for herself, on the quality of auto-criticism, in art What the department needs most, its chairman feels, and in other fields. We try to bring into focus the sru- is a place of its own, where students can see the faculty dent's thinking about many issues, especially the in- working. "I had a srudio over in Thames," he explained, dividual's need to be creative, imaginative and responsible. "bur when they took over the fifth Boor here [a telescope "We have most in common with the sciences, in that was installed on the top floor of Bill Hall last year] we see the traditional as being of use-as any other we had to move the sculpture classes to Thames." A new experience is useful-but we think our real responsibility art building, which has high priority in the College's is to the present. We assume we can't find all the answers plans for furore development, should have a studio for in the past." Accordingly, students at Connecticut are each member of rhe faculry, Mr. McCloy thinks, as well urged to concentrate on style and the quality of line as space to exhibit faculty and srudenr work. rather than accuracy. It is more important for the student The purpose of the art major at Connecticut, Mr. M(~ to arrive at her own truth than to copy the verities of MARCH 1964 5 MARGUERITE HANSON. Her prints and water colors range from the abstract to the more realistic styles ... The overall impact of her paintings is strongly romantic. some other artist. "We never say, 'the ear is too high or realistic styles. She says she has no idea in advance what :"00 low'-buc why," Mr. McCloy said. she will make when she starts a painting. An abstraction in somber colors was hanging on the wall of her office. Majors More Serious How did that painting come about, for instance? "Well, 1 can't really talk about that Doe because it isn't finished." Art majors at Connecticut in recent years have been She looked at the picture critically. "But it's been there getting more serious about their studies. This was the a year, so I guess I consider it a failure." opinion of Prof. Marguerite Hanson, who will retire from Not all her paintings have been "failures." Her work the College this summer after 30 years with the depart- has been shown extensively throughout New England, ment.