As the Georgia Museum of Art celebrates the 75th anniversary of our museum, we’re looking back at our history. This time: the 1960s. To begin the decade, the museum building, then on North Campus, went through some exterior changes. Six abstract paintings symbolizing six phases of university life were installed on the building’s sealed windows, designed by then director Alfred Heber Holbrook. The permanent collection had grown to include over 2,000 works by 1967, and attendance increased significantly.
Beyond exterior aesthetics, the museum also saw changes in the types of exhibitions and artist’s works on view. Local and regional artists, including UGA faculty such as Lamar Dodd, continued to have a significant presence, with regular exhibitions of works by the Athens Art Association and Georgia Association of Artists.
In 1966, assistant professor of art William D. Paul Jr. was appointed the first curator at the museum and his role helped elevate the exhibitions on view at the museum significantly. He became its second director in 1969 when Holbrook retired. Paul’s expertise in contemporary art led to shows like “American Painting: 1950s,” which featured pioneers of abstract expressionism and was part of the museum’s 20th anniversary celebration in November 1968.
In the later 60s, the museum saw more and more exhibitions of artists’ works from outside the state. Exhibitions underlined the changing times, showcasing abstract expressionism and pop art and other recent trends in the art world, as with one show titled “The Visual Assault,” the largest exhibition of contemporary art in the region at the time.