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Evan H. Turner Records
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Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]Philadelphia Museum of Art, PO Box 7646, Philadelphia, PA 19101-7646
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
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Evan H. Turner (born 1927), an art historian and scholar, was the Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) from 1964 to 1978, leading the Museum through a period of significant growth and transformation. He created new art departments for American and 20th Century Art, and the innovative Department of Urban Outreach (DUO) to promote art across the City of Philadelphia. These progressive activities were matched by a groundbreaking exhibition in 1973, the Marcel Duchamp retrospective, which drew upon significant scholarship and assembled virtually the entire oeuvre of one of the most important artists represented in the Museum. In 1975, Turner led the Museum in a major construction project to install a new climate control system in the building, and in 1976, he helped plan the United States’ Bicentennial and the PMA’s Centennial celebrations.
Turner was born in 1927 in Orono, Maine. He attended Harvard University, where he received his BA (1949), MA (1950) and PhD (1954) in art history. From 1950 to 1951, he managed the Fogg Museum’s docent program, and from 1951 to 1952, completed a Harvard teaching fellowship. From 1953 to 1956, Turner worked as a lecturer and research assistant at the Frick Collection in New York City. He was appointed general curator at the Wadsworth Athenaeum in 1955, where he remained until 1959, when he was hired as the Director of the Montreal Museum of Art. He stayed there until 1964, when he was brought on as director of PMA.
Turner’s tenure at the PMA was very productive. He established departments in 20th century and American Art, and the Alfred Stieglitz Center for Photography. Under his leadership, yearly donations to the Museum increased to $500,000 and membership grew to 18,000. Turner was also committed to expanding the Museum’s patronage, especially gaining the support of people living in Philadelphia’s inner city neighborhoods. To this end, he created the Department of Urban Outreach (DUO). The DUO brought art into the neighborhoods, especially through its mural painting program, and from 1971 to 1977, two affiliated institutions were coordinated by DUO, the Fleisher Art Memorial in South Philadelphia and the Thomas Eakins House in the Fairmount neighborhood.
In 1975, Turner embarked on a major City construction project to install climate control throughout the Museum’s 1928 building. This project required removal of works of art from galleries and temporarily closing the Museum to the public. After the project’s completion, Turner led the Museum in a series of events to celebrate the country’s Bicentennial and the Museum’s Centennial, including a reception in honor of HRH Queen Elizabeth of England and the landmark exhibition, "Three Centuries of American Art."
1977 saw the arrival by bequest of the Carl Otto von Kienbusch Collection, one of the finest arms and armor collections in the United States. That year, unexpectedly, Turner tendered his resignation, stating in his letter of resignation, "I have come to feel increasingly that there are very real advantages to change in the direction of a distinguished art museum such as ours… I am proud to have had a part in the Museum’s preparations for its Centennial celebrations, but it is proper that someone else should undertake the challenges of the directorship and bring different energies to bear as the museum faces its second century."
From Philadelphia, Turner went on to be director of North Carolina's Ackland Art Museum, and from 1982 to 1993, he was the Director of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Turner was a leader nationally in the world of art museums. Throughout his career, he held various leadership roles within several professional and arts and culture organizations including, Federal Council on the Arts, Center for Museum Education, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Association of Art Museum Directors, American Association of Museums, American Federation of Arts, and International Advisory Committee on Fine Arts. While in Philadelphia, he was affiliated with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Fairmount Park Art Association, Old Philadelphia Development Corporation, Philadelphia 1976 Bicentennial Corporation, and the Institute of Contemporary Art. He also taught at the University of Pennsylvania.
Bibliography: PACSCL Survey record
“Turner, Evan.” Philadelphia Museum of Art, Archives, vertical file.
The Evan H. Turner records document Turner’s tenure as Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA). From 1964 to 1978, Turner led the Museum through a series of striking changes, including controversial exhibitions, the creation of new museum departments, and the long term closing of the museum for renovation. A mix of correspondence, inter-office memoranda, reports, minutes and other records provide ample evidence of Turner’s leading position in these endeavors, as well as his supervisory role in exhibition and event planning, and the daily operations of the Museum. The collection also evidences Turner’s work with a number of professional organizations, his efforts to help the City plan the Bicentennial celebrations, and his professorship at the University of Pennsylvania.
The collection is divided into four series: “I. Official correspondence and subject files,” “II. Special projects,” “III. Professional affiliations,” and “IV. Unofficial subject files and correspondence.”
Please see individual series’ descriptions and folder lists for more information.
Due to the nature of Turner’s record keeping system, there is considerable overlap of content and inconsistencies in filing practices throughout the entire collection. Researchers are therefore advised to consult the folder list for each series and subseries when seeking information on specific people, events and/or subjects. In addition, it is suggested that researchers search for topics under several headings within and across series. For example, depending on the year, reports written by Turner for regular Board of Trustees meetings are sometimes filed under “B” for Board of Trustees, “T” for Trustees’ meetings or “D” for Director’s reports. Another good example are files relating to the Philadelphia Inquirer , which are sometimes filed under “P” for Philadelphia Inquirer , and other times under “I” for Inquirer .
Transferred from the Director’s Office.
Finding aid prepared by Christiana Dobrzynski Grippe, Jenna Marrone, Holly Mengel and Courtney Smerz in 2011. The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
This collection was minimally processed in 2009-2011, as part of an experimental project conducted under the auspices of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries to help eliminate processing backlog in Philadelphia repositories. A minimally processed collection is one processed at a less intensive rate than traditionally thought necessary to make a collection ready for use by researchers. When citing sources from this collection, researchers are advised to defer to folder titles provided in the finding aid rather than those provided on the physical folder.
Employing processing strategies outlined in Mark Greene's and Dennis Meissner's 2005 article, More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Processing Approaches to Deal With Late 20th-Century Collections , the project team tested the limits of minimal processing on collections of all types and ages, in 23 Philadelphia area repositories. A primary goal of the project, the team processed at an average rate of 2-3 hours per linear foot of records, a fraction of the time ordinarily reserved for the arrangement and description of collections. Among other time saving strategies, the project team did not extensively review the content of the collections, replace acidic folders or complete any preservation work.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Christiana Dobrzynski Grippe, Jenna Marrone, Holly Mengel and Courtney Smerz
- Finding Aid Date
- 2011.09.09
- Sponsor
- The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
- Access Restrictions
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This collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.
Collection Inventory
Series “I. Official correspondence and subject files” houses the bulk of the collection, and contains correspondence, interoffice memoranda, minutes and other administrative records evidencing Turner’s tenure as Director of the Museum, as well as the Museum’s leading position in Philadelphia and the larger arts and culture world at the time.
The records were originally maintained in alphabetically arranged correspondence and subject files by calendar and/or fiscal year, resulting in nearly a dozen distinct but overlapping record groups. To improve access, during processing, a majority of the correspondence and subject files were collocated into two distinct alphabetically arranged systems, making up the first two subseries associated with series I: “a. 1964-1971” and “b. 1971-1978.” Following are three additional subseries: “c. ‘Desk Copies’,1964-1971” “d. Hobart Lyle Williams papers, Executive Assistant to the Director,” and “e. Correspondence and subject files relating to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.”
Subseries “a. 1964-1971” houses mostly correspondence and interoffice memoranda, concerning Turner’s involvement in daily operations and long term planning of the Museum during the first half of his directorship. Activities represented in this subseries include fundraising (such as planning the “Crystal Ball”), planning for exhibitions (such as Marcel Duchamp’s “Étant donnés,” and exhibitions of Brancusi and Rodin sculpture), general collection development, donor relations, management of personnel, and participation in local and national museum organizations. The files are arranged in alphabetical order. There are general alphabetical files, such as “Aa-Ak,” and more specific files organized by name or subject. There is also a large run of files regarding various national and international museums, which are first filed under “M” for museums and then alphabetically by institutional name or geographic location. Researchers should note that, though represented to some degree in this and/or the subsequent subseries, Turner retained separate files for particularly large undertakings, which can be found in series “II. Special Projects.” Please review the folder list for more details.
Subseries “b. 1971-1978” documents the second half of Turner’s tenure as Director of the Museum. Similar in nature and content to the previous subseries, researchers will find correspondence, inter-office memoranda, minutes and other administrative records documenting day to day operations and long term planning of the Museum. Topics and activities that are particularly well represented include: the Museum’s Centennial celebration, the Duchamp retrospective, Thomas Eakins House (filed under Eakins), Fairmount Park Art Association, Fleisher Art Memorial, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the acquisition of the Kienbusch Collection, “Second Empire” exhibition, and Turner’s teaching career at the University of Pennsylvania. Like the first subseries, the files are arranged in alphabetical order. There are general alphabetical files, such as “Aa-Ak,” and more specific files organized by name or subject. There is a large run of files regarding various national and international museums, which are first filed under “M” for museums and then alphabetically by institutional name or geographic location. The records date from 1970 to 1978. Researchers should note that, though represented to some degree in this and/or the subsequent subseries, Turner retained separate files for particularly large undertakings, which can be found in series “II. Special Projects.” Please review the folder list for more details.
Subseries “c. 1964-1971, ‘Desk Copies’” contains copies of Turner’s outgoing correspondence, memoranda, reports and other administrative records, as well as invitation replies. This material may or may not be duplicative of material elsewhere in the collection, and researchers should be aware that the bulk of the material is outgoing correspondence. The material is arranged chronologically by year, and alphabetically by name and/or subject within each year’s file.
Subseries “d. Hobart Lyle Williams papers, Executive Assistant to the Director” houses papers maintained by Hobart Williams, Executive Assistant to the Director. Williams’ files contain documentation regarding staff and personnel information, museum policy, and significant financial information related to the museum’s budget and operations. Williams’ papers evidence his professional relationship with Turner, and in some cases are direct copies of the material found in series “I.a.” and “I.b.” The material dates from 1961 to 1974, and is arranged alphabetically. Subseries “e. Philadelphia Museum of Art subject files” houses documentation directly related to the administration and operations of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The material includes copies of the Museum Bulletin , budget information, Director’s reports, Board and committee meeting minutes, newsletters, staff and volunteer information, and records related to the Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There are files of memoranda and correspondence exchanged between Turner and Museum staff, including David Katzive, Director of the Department of Urban Outreach, curator Stella Kramrisch, and George M. Cheston, President of the Corporation. There are also records of a more anecdotal nature, including office Christmas party planning and Museum dinner party guest lists. The materials date from 1961 to 1972, and are arranged alphabetically.
Series “II. Special projects,” contains material related to notable events that took place during Turner’s tenure as museum director. Projects include the installation of a new HVAC, or climate control system, and the subsequent reinstallation of works of art, planning for the Museum’s Centennial anniversary and the Bicentennial of the United States, the creation of a Rodin Museum catalog, and the re-drafting of the museum’s by-laws. The records are divided into subseries accordingly: “a. Centennial of the Philadelphia Museum of Art / Bicentennial of the United States,” “b. Closing and reinstallation,” “c. Philadelphia Museum of Art By-laws,” and “d. Rodin catalog and Professor Albert Elsen correspondence.”
Subseries “a. Centennial of the Philadelphia Museum of Art / Bicentennial of the United States,” contains planning materials related to both the Art Museum’s centennial celebration and the 1976 Bicentennial of the United States; most of the documentation relates to the City’s Bicentennial events. Much of the material is published and unpublished reports, clippings, and memoranda from Philadelphia planning organizations like the Bicentennial Corporation and Philadelphia 76, Inc. The material dates from 1967 to 1978 and is arranged chronologically.
Subseries “b. Closing and reinstallation,” contains records related to the installation of the Museum’s new climate control system. Due to this project, the Museum closed in April of 1975, and did not reopen until February 1976. During this time period, air conditioning was installed in the museum building for the first time, galleries underwent reconstruction, and works of art were relocated. The correspondence, reports, and memoranda found here evidence this process, especially the Museum’s closing and reopening. Many files contain information on paint and lighting choices for the galleries, trace the movement of works of art around the museum, and chronicle the renovation decision-making process. The files are arranged alphabetically, and date from 1974-1976.
Subseries “c. Philadelphia Museum of Art By-laws,” include correspondence, memoranda, reports, and drafts related to the re-write of the museum’s by-laws. By-law drafts that were circulated among the administrative staff and the Board for review include notes and edits. This subseries also houses copies of by-laws from many other museums. The files date from 1972-1976, and are arranged chronologically.
Subseries “d. Rodin catalog and Professor Albert Elsen correspondence,” includes copies of correspondence between Turner, Albert Elsen, an art historian and leading authority on Rodin, and others, generated during the creation of a Rodin Museum catalog. A portion of a catalog draft can also be found here. The material spans the years 1966 to 1974, and is arranged chronologically.
Series “III. Professional affiliations” evidences Turner’s involvement with a variety of professional organizations. He was a leader in each, often holding official positions, like President, or sat on the board. The series is divided into the following subseries: “a. American Association of Museums (AAM),” “b. Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD),” “c. American Federation of Arts (AFA),” “d. Associated Council of the Arts (ACA),” and “e. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) / National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).”
Subseries “a. American Association of Museums (AAM)” contains the records generated by Turner’s membership in the AAM. Turner was very active within the organization and served on both the Executive and Nominating Committees. The material in this subseries includes meeting minutes and agendas, committee records, correspondence, and reports. Of particular interest are the accreditation records generated from institution evaluations. The materials date from 1965 to 1977, and are arranged chronologically.
Subseries “b. Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)” chronicles Turner’s involvement with the organization, including his tenure as Vice President (1974-1975) and President (1975-1976.) Turner also chaired the Professional Practices Committee for many years. The material housed here include meeting minutes, committee reports, correspondence and memoranda, and documentation from controversial issues; for example, the debate over charging museum admission. This subseries also contains early AAMD meeting minutes and agenda gathered by Calvin Hathaway, the PMA’s Curator of Decorative Arts from 1930 to 1933 and 1963 to 1973. The material dates from 1952 to 1977 and is arranged alphabetically, with general files housed first and organized chronologically.
Subseries “c. American Federation of Arts (AFA)” contains material generated over the course of Turner’s long involvement with the AFA, including his tenure as trustee and Chairman of the Ad Hoc Policy Review Committee. Material includes correspondence and memoranda exchanged between Turner and his fellow AFA members, as well as reports and report drafts. The material is arranged chronologically and dates from 1966-1977.
Subseries “d. Associated Council of the Arts (ACA)” contains records from Turner’s involvement with the ACA, including his three-year term as a board member from 1968 to 1970. The bulk of the material is generated from his tenure on the Board, and includes correspondence, reports and meeting minutes. The material is arranged chronologically and dates from 1968 to 1976.
Subseries “e. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) / National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)” is composed primarily of meeting minutes from the NEA and the National Council on the Arts. The material also reflects Turner’s tenure as Chairman of the Advisory Panel on Museums, a position he held from at least 1971 to 1974. This subseries also contains records of the Philadelphia Museum of Art requests for funding. The material is arranged chronologically, and dates from 1966 to 1977.
Series “IV. Unofficial subject files and correspondence” contains Turner’s personal working files and his correspondence with associates in the arts and museum field. These files are similar in nature to Series I., but were not necessarily created in his role as Director. The bulk of the material is in the form of correspondence, but administrative files, lecture notes, and travel information can also be found here. Researchers are advised to view this series and Series I. The series is divided into two subseries, “a. Subject files” and “b. Correspondence.”
Subseries “a. Subject files” is composed of Turner’s personal working files. Documentation includes his preparation material for budgets, personal correspondence, his involvement with the Fairmount Park Art Association, and information related to various symposia and conferences. This subseries also contains Turner’s lecture notes, travel information, and correspondence regarding Expo ’67, the 1967 World’s Fair. The material is arranged alphabetically and ranges from 1959 to 1979.
Subseries “b. Correspondence” contains Turner’s personal correspondence files. In general, this correspondence reflects Turner’s relationship with other professionals in the arts and museum field. Material includes invitations and RSVPs, personal arrangements, and friendly correspondence. There is also some information regarding events and organizations The material is arranged alphabetically and dates from 1934 to 1971.