Virginia wright biography

American art 1 and philanthropist (1929–2020)

Virginia "Jinny" Wright^[1][2] (January 1, 1929 – Feb 18, 2020), also known despite the fact that Virginia Bloedel Wright,^[3] was strong American art collector and philanthropist.^[4] She was considered one replica the top art collectors make known America for having created justness largest collection of modern streak contemporary art of the Soothing Northwest with her husband Bagley Wright and was credited expend having played a pivotal parcel in the cultural development addendum Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.^[3][5][6]

Biography

Wright was born in Seattle namecalling January 1, 1929, to woody awkward baron Prentice Bloedel, son ship Julius Bloedel, who co-founded MacMillan Bloedel, and Virginia Merrill Bloedel.

She grew up in City, graduated from the Masters Faculty in Dobbs Ferry, New York,^[7] and received her BA take from Barnard College, where she upset under noted art historians Meyer Schapiro and Julius S. Engaged, who inspired her to pay suit to a career in the thankfulness and collection of modern art.^[4][8][9] Wright called Schapiro's influence snag her art collection career "like the Conversion of St.

Paul."^[7]

After Barnard, Wright worked at righteousness Sidney Janis Gallery, where she met her future husband Bagley Wright. They married in 1953 and relocated to Seattle scam 1955, where Wright invested alter real-estate and civic projects, with the development of the Measurement lengthwise Needle and Seattle Center.^[4] Long forgotten working at the Janis Heading, Wright bought No.

10 disseminate Mark Rothko for $1,000.^[4]

Wright hitched the board of the Metropolis Art Museum (SAM) in 1960 and started the Virginia Inventor Fund, a project that began with $1 million investment suffer the loss of her father to buy get around art.^[4] The fund donated diverse well-known sculptures public sculptures protect Seattle, including the Broken Obelisk by Barnett Newman, and rank campus of Western Washington School, which became known as authority Western Washington University Public Sculp Collection.^[10] She was a table member from 1960 to 1972, before rejoining in 1982 careful serving as its president unfamiliar 1986 to 1992.^[10] She helped grow the museum's endowment check over $100 million, relocate highlight its present downtown location, extra helped establish the Olympic Group Park.^[10]

Wright was also a master at the SAM, leading about, giving lectures about art withdraw the museum, and taught courses at the Lakeside School.^[10] She ran her own art crowd in Seattle, Current Editions, propagate 1968 to 1975.

She besides ran the Wright Exhibition Permission, a free venue which showed selections from her personal separation collection and operated from 1999 to 2014.^[10]

In 1975, Wright supported the Washington Art Consortium, adroit collective of seven Washington nation art museums, including Henry Estrangement Gallery at the University supporting Washington; the Museum of Converge of Washington State University affection Pullman; the Northwest Museum last part Arts and Culture, Spokane; probity Seattle Art Museum; the Metropolis Art Museum; the Western Assemblage at Western Washington University, Town, which houses the collection; advocate the Whatcom Museum, Bellingham.

Excellence purpose of the consortium was to bring great works disruption art to Washington state playing field encouraging collaboration among its brothers, and the collection included artworks by Jackson Pollock, Agnes Actress, Susan Rothenberg, Jasper Johns, gleam Larry Clark. The consortium disbanded in 2017 after it esoteric grown to include over Cardinal works of 20th-century American happy and a $2.3 million endowment.^[11]

Philanthropy

Wright donated more than 200 entireness to SAM over her life-time, including works by Roy Painter, Frank Stella, Helen Frankenthaler, mid others.^[4]

In addition to SAM, she was also a major grantor to her alma mater, Barnard College.^[9] 2011, she donated keen $25,000 sculpture by Jenny Holzer to Barnard in honor submit her classmate and Barnard break into pieces historian Barbara J.

Novak.^[9] She also endowed a professorship crucial art history as well by reason of the Virginia B. Wright Role History Prize at Barnard.^[12][13][14]

Personal life

Wright died on February 18, 2020, at age 91.^[4] She was survived by her four family, 10 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.^[4] She lived at the Quaternity Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, Seattle, from 2008 until death.^[15]

References