Kristie C. Wolferman - The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A History

LETS MAKE HISTORY TOGETHER! Julin Zugazagoitia, the Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell Director and CEO of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, exclaimed when I broached the subject of revising and updating my previous history of the museum. Julins enthusiasm extended to his staff, who supported my research. Special thanks go to Archivist Tara Laver, with whom I spent every Monday and Thursday for more than a year and who made it her mission to find any and all information and images I requested. Gaylord Torrence, Fred and Virginia Merrill Curator of American Indian Art, volunteered his time and expertise to read and edit my text about the Nelson-Atkinss collection and display of Native American art. Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs, expertly and promptly answered all my questions related to the collection, while Karen Christiansen, Chief Operating Officer, helped me understand the many changes that have been made in the organization, administration, and operation of the museum since I wrote my previous history. Keith Davis, Senior Curator of Photography, shared his thorough and careful research on the museums amazing photographic collection, and MacKenzie Mallon, Provenance Specialist, checked the history of several works of art. The library staff, headed by Amelia Nelson, and Anne Manning, Director of Education and Interpretation, assisted me as did Stacey Sherman, who handled citations and permissions with alacrity and ease. I also came to know and appreciate Debbie Oliphant, James Hymes, and Robert Gotow in the Security Command Center.

Past staff members, trustees, and friends aided in my research. Many thanks go to Marc Wilson, Director Emeritus, who spent hours answering my innumerable questions and telling me about his experience as Curator of OrientalArt and his twenty-eight years as director of the museum. Ellen Goheen, who served in many different positions at the museum over the course of thirty-one years, graciously and professionally filled in all the gaps in knowledge that I could not find in the trustees minutes or directors files. My talks with Father Thomas Wiederholt, Sarah Ingram-Eiser, Patricia Cleary Miller, Carolyn Kroh, Linda Woodsmall-DeBruce, Tom Bloch, Bruce Mathews, Elliot Rowlands, and Mary Lou Brous broadened my understanding of the social history of the museum while Laura Mombello at the Barstow School and the staff at The Independent helped me find information about the Nelson family.

My interest in writing about the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art began with my masters thesis, so I would again like to thank my advisor in the UMKC history department, the late Richard D. McKinzie, and Lindsay Hughes Cooper, whose remarkable stories about the early days of the museum gave me perspective on what it was like. When Andrew Davidson, editor-in-chief at the University of Missouri Press, suggested that I write a new history of the Nelson-Atkins, I did not realize the extent of this project. I am grateful to Andrew for his confidence and support.

Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family, especially my husband, who have put up with my consuming focus on the stories about the museum.