Perry T. Rathbone

Perry Townsend Rathbone (July 3, 1911 – January 22, 2000) was one of the leading American art museum directors of the 20th century. As director of the St. Louis Art Museum from 1940 to 1955, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from 1955 to 1972, he transformed these institutions from quiet repositories of art to vibrant cultural centers. Known for his sensitive installations as well as his bold publicity stunts, he increased the membership and attendance figures of both institutions exponentially, and also added significant works to their permanent collections across the board.

Biography

Early years Rathbone was born in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1911, and spent his early childhood in New York City where his father, Howard Betts Rathbone, worked as a salesman. His mother, Beatrice Connely Rathbone, was a school nurse. In 1917 the family moved to New Rochelle, New York, where Perry and his older brother Westcott attended the local public schools. Perry entered Harvard College as a freshman in the fall of 1929 with the class of 1933. At Harvard he majored in art history and went on to take the graduate course with Professor Paul Sachs called "Museum Work and Museum Problems," which was responsible for training the first generation of museum professionals in America. In Boston he formed the first "Ladies Committee" for the museum with Frances Weeks Hallowell, a successful strategy for increasing membership and broadening the MFA's base of support. Rathbone staged unprecedented loan exhibitions such as European Art of Our Time and The Age of Rembrandt, renovated more than fifty galleries, and increased the annual sale of publications by 1000 per cent. As temporary head of the paintings department while also serving as the museum's director, he added notable works to the collection such as Rosso Fiorentino's Dead Christ with Angels, Claude Monet's La Japonaise, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's Time Unveiling Truth, and the anonymous fifteenth-century Flemish Martyrdom of Saint Hippolytus. He retired in 1985, but continued to act as a consultant.

Honors Honorary Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard University, 1958 Honorary Doctor of Arts (Art.D.), Washington University in St. Louis, 1958 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.), Northeastern University, 1960 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.), Bates College, 1964 Chevalier de Légion d'Honneur, 1964 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.), Williams College, 1970 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.), Rhode Island School of Design, 1982 President, Association of Art Museum Directors, 1959–60, 1969–70

Selected bibliography Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "The Rathbone Years," 1972 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Back Bay Boston: The City as a Work of Art," 1969 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "The Age of Rembrandt," 1966 Museum of Modern Art, New York, "Max Beckmann," 1964 (with Peter Seltz) City Art Museum, St. Louis, "Westward the Way," 1955 City Art Museum, St. Louis, "Mississippi Panorama," 1950 City Art Museum, St. Louis, "Max Beckmann," 1948 City Art Museum, St. Louis, "Charles Wimar: Painter of the Indian Frontier," 1946