Washburn, Gordon B. (Gordon Bailey), 1904-

Gordon Bailey Washburn (1904-1983) was an art museum director from New York, N.Y.

Director of Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y., 1931-1942. Director of Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1942-1949. Director of the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Penn., 1950-1962. Director, Asia House Gallery, New York, N.Y., 1961-1974.

Gordon Bailey Washburn (1904-1983) was an art museum director from New York, N.Y.

He was the director of Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y., 1931-1942; director of Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1942-1949; director of the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Penn., 1950-1962; and director, Asia House Gallery, New York, N.Y., 1961-1974.

Gordon Bailey Washburn (1904-1983) was born and raised in Massachusetts. He graduated from Williams College and subsequently traveled in Europe, returning to study under Professor Paul J. Sachs of the Fogg Art Museum. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Harvard. His first position in a long career of museum administration was at the Albright Art Gallery, where he succeeded William M. Hekking as art director on October 1, 1931. From the beginning of his tenure at the Albright Art Gallery, Washburn sought to implement programs designed to increase the usefulness of the Gallery to the majority of the public. It was under his direction that the first educational secretaries (coordinators) were hired, followed by the appointment of Robert T. Davis as the first director of education in 1936. Similar growth of departments designed for serving the public included the Library (founded in 1932), the Picture Lending Library (founded in 1933), and a Department of Allied Art and Industry (founded in 1934), which was intended to foster links between manufacturers, retailers, and the Gallery through training in art appreciation for sales girls. The changing needs of the public during the Great Depression spurred the implementation of educational outreach programs, school tours, and adult education classes. Washburn himself lectured before a variety of audiences in upstate New York, as well as arranging for a full series of lectures each year at the Gallery.

His two largest and best received exhibitions were Master Drawings (1935) and Master Bronzes (1937). Both were scholarly and considered innovative for the manner of their installation. In 1934, Washburn initiated the first independently-juried Western New York regional exhibition as a fair response to rivalry among local artists' societies. Washburn's most lasting contribution to the history of the permanent collection was the establishment of the Room of Contemporary Art in December 1938. Funded largely by Seymour H. Knox, Jr., the Room for Contemporary Art was governed by an innovative and experimental collecting policy which permitted the collection and exhibition of contemporary art from many countries for the benefit and enlightenment of the public. Washburn resigned as director in 1942 to become director of the Rhode Island School of Art's museum. In the early fifties he became director of the Carnegie Institute Department of Fine Arts in Pittsburgh. In 1962 he resigned to head the Asia House Gallery in New York, a position from which he retired in 1972. He died in New York City in 1983

Art museum director; New York, N.Y.

Director of Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y., 1931-1942. Director of Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1942-1949. Director of the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Penn., 1950-1962. Director, Asia House Gallery, New York, N.Y., 1961-1974.

Art museum director; New York, N.Y.

Director of Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y., 1931-1942. Director of Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1942-1949. Director of the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Penn., 1950-1962. Director, Asia House Gallery, New York, N.Y., 1961-1974.