Griffith, Armand H., 1860-1930.

Armand H. Griffith (1860-1930) directed the Detroit Museum of Art from 1891 to 1913. He was the second director of the museum. Born in Kingston, Indiana, Griffith received his education in Ohio and studied painting in Dusseldorf, Germany. Before coming to Detroit, he worked at a variety of occupations including acting, photography and sign painting. His association with the museum began in 1890 when he served as secretary to the Board of Trustees. He became Acting Director in 1891 and Director in 1893. As director, Griffith excelled in popularizing the museum among the citizens and political leadership in Detroit thereby establishing an environment in which museum funding could be stabilized. He achieved this partly through active involvement in civic projects, by cultivating the press and by initiating an immensely popular free lecture series on Sunday afternoons at the museum. His efforts were rewarded in 1893 when the City of Detroit began an unprecedented series of appropriations to the museum. The legal questions raised by use of public funds for the privately incorporated museum became an issue in 1904 when a city bond issue of $50,000 was tested in the courts and decided in favor of the museum. Under Griffith's direction, The Picture Fund, a popular subscription fund for the acquisition of works of art by American artists was initiated and major additions and galleries were completed. At the same time, the museum's art school was closed in 1899 due to insufficient funding. Griffith was active in a variety of local associations including the Masons, the Detroit Salmagundi Club and local bicycle clubs. In 1913, amid controversy and disagreements with the Board of Trustees, he resigned. He lived the remainder of his life in semi-retirement in Santa Barbara, California.