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Cleveland Museum of Art: Founders - Summer
2008
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Four Clevelanders are considered
the founders of the Cleveland Museum of Art: John Huntington, Horace Kelley,
Hinman Hurlbut and Jeptha Wade II. Over the course of nine years Huntington,
Kelley and Hurlbut each separately left bequests for the establishment of
an art gallery. Fortunately all three estates had a common trustee, Henry
Clay Ranney, who was able to reconcile the three bequests to create a single
art museum which was eventually incorporated as The Cleveland Museum of
Art on June 25, 1913. Wade donated the land on which the museum was built.
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John Huntington
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John Huntington, born in England
in 1832, came to Cleveland in 1854. He joined the oil refining firm of Clark
and Payne in 1863. When the firm was absorbed by Standard Oil, Huntington
received 500 shares of Standard Oil stock. He became one of the wealthiest
men in Cleveland and his fortune continued to grow through interests in
oil refining, shipping, mining, stone quarrying, and real estate. Huntington's
interests in art developed after making a grand tour of Europe with his
second wife.
John Huntington died in 1893. His will created the John Huntington Art and
Polytechnic Trust to provide for a free public art museum and a free evening
polytechnic school. |
Horace Kelley was born in Cleveland
in 1819 and was raised from the age of four by his uncle Thomas Kelley on
Kelleys Island. Upon his uncle's death, he inherited ownership of most of
the island, which he then sold in 1845. Kelley increased his fortune by
continuing to invest in real estate. Kelley's interest in art grew from
his wife's love of art. He was first exposed to art museums in 1868 during
a trip abroad.
Kelley died in 1890. His will provided $500,000 for the construction of
a fire proof art gallery which was also to be used as a school for the
arts. Kelley envisioned that his bequest would be the nucleus for additional
gifts of art and money. Kelley's bequest stipulated that "no work
of art unless of acknowledged merit" be admitted to the gallery.
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Horace Kelley |
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Hinman Hurlbut |
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Hinman Hurlbut was born in New York
in 1819. He came to Cleveland in 1837 to work in his brother's law office.
His career shifted from law to banking and by 1863 Hurlbut owned four banks.
In his later years, he was also known as a railroad magnate. Hurlbut's interest
in art began during a restorative trip to Europe in 1865 where he was introduced
to the great art centers of Europe.
Hurlbut died in 1884. His will left over $250,000 in trust for the establishment
of an art museum. However, only about $20,000 was left for an art museum
after the death of Mrs. Hurlbut in 1910, as much of the bequest was used
to supplement the trust left for her support. Happily, Mrs. Hurlbut had
amassed a large collection of art work which eventually was gifted to the
museum. |
Jeptha Homer Wade II was born
in Cleveland in 1857. J.H. Wade II was close to his grandfather, Jeptha
Homer Wade I, who was one of the founders of Western Union Telegraph Company
and a wealthy industrialist. His family's gifts of land to the city included
the site upon which the museum stands. J.H. Wade II's interest in art came
from his grandfather who was also an artist.
J.H. Wade II was an incorporator of the museum in 1913 and served as president
of the board of trustees from 1920 until his death in 1926. He donated many
important collections of art to the museum, including the first object,
an embroidered lace collar in 1914. J.H. Wade II also established an endowment
fund for art purchases and a building fund. |
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Jeptha Homer Wade II |
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Frederick A. Whiting |
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The museum's first director was
Frederic Allen Whiting. He was hired by the board of trustees shortly before
the museum was incorporated and began work in May 1913. He had been director
of the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana. Whiting's education
in the arts came from working with skilled craftsmen as a social worker
in Lowell, Massachusetts. One of his first tasks was to assemble an art
collection. Purchases were made with income from trust funds established
by the founders' wills. Whiting stressed the importance of quality over
quantity in his purchases. He also had a clear vision of the museum as an
educational and teaching institution. Whiting planned for a 10,000 volume
museum library which originated with donations of book collections from
John L. Severance and J.H. Wade II prior to the museum's opening. An assistant
in charge of education was hired before the museum was completed to begin
working with local schools. The original museum included a Children's museum
and classrooms, and CMA was the first museum to allow children to draw in
the galleries. Whiting left the museum in 1930 to become Director of the
American Federation of Arts. |
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