Edgar Craig Schenck (ECS) records, 1955 - 1960

Edgar Craig Schenck (1909-1959)

Edgar Craig Schenck was born in Hot Springs, North Carolina, in 1909. It is interesting to note that he was descended from Jan Martense Schenck Van Nydeck, a 17th-century Brooklyn resident whose house is preserved in the Museum. Schenck earned Bachelors and Masters degrees at Princeton University in 1931 and 1934, during which time he participated in archaeological excavations in France, Italy, and Syria. He served as Assistant (1935), Acting (1935-1936), and full Director (1936-1946) of the Honolulu Academy of Arts, Director of the Smith College Museum of Art (1946-1949), and Director of the Albright-Knox Gallery (1949-1955) prior to coming to The Brooklyn Museum. During his years in Honolulu, he also taught at the University of Hawaii.

Schenck was appointed Director of The Brooklyn Museum in August 1955 and served until his death on November 15, 1959. During the search for Schenck's successor, John D. Cooney, Curator of Egyptian Art, was appointed Acting Director; his term ended with the appointment of Thomas S. Buechner in July 1960.

Schenck articulated two goals in a "First Impressions" article in The Brooklyn Museum Bulletin: to improve the physical setting in which the collections were shown and to purchase and show only the highest quality objects. The first goal began to be implemented through work on plans that had been formulated by the architectural firm Brown, Lawford and Forbes under Director Charles Nagel. Stages I and II reconstructed gallery and service areas of the Museum, beginning a process that continued through Stages Ill and IV and lasted throughout the 1960s.

In seeking to improve the quality of works of art that the Museum was able to purchase, Schenck established a policy of pooling unrestricted funds, so that fewer, but more important, works could be purchased. He also formed a Curatorial Committee, which he chaired, to review potential acquisitions; the Exhibition Committee continued to be active. An Administrative Committee was formed as a result of his reorganization of administrative functions.

Schenck reached out to both the local and professional communities. A grant-funded Community Development Office was established in 1956 as a pilot program, to increase community participation in Museum activities. The office polled residents for suggestions and organized members' previews, lectures, films, and tours. Another grant-funded project, the Fellowship Program, brought young scholars into the Museum for intensive training in museum administration and curatorship. Links with higher education were strengthened: the Design Laboratory began working with the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Art School investigated establishing a degree program through Long Island University, and the Conservation Laboratory organized an international Exploratory Conference on Conservation. Connections to the public schools remained strong and included development of special classes for intellectually, artistically and musically gifted children, as well as an expanded teacher training program.

The increased emphasis on grant funding led to the establishment of a Development Office, which approached foundations in a more organized, methodical way than had previously been attempted. A Business Membership program was also planned, in order to expand the Museum's membership pool. The role of the Community Committee in supporting the Museum increased: the first annual Museum Ball took place in 1958 and a Museum Employees Pension Fund was established the following year with Community Committee funding.

Much of the curatorial activity during Schenck's tenure revolved around installing or reinstalling galleries that had been renovated under Stage I and II building plans. The rotunda, Kevorkian Gallery, Auditorium Court, Medieval and Renaissance galleries, Egyptian galleries, and Oceanic, Indonesian and African Art installations all underwent changes during this period. The Sculpture Garden was first proposed in 1958. Among the more important exhibitions were "Face of America" (1957-1958), "Design for the Home" (1958), "Elias Pelletreau, Long Island Silversmith" (1958), and Bury the Dead" (1958).

Several important personnel changes occurred under Schenck, in addition to the establishment of a Pension Plan mentioned above. A staff union was recognized in 1956 and links to AFSCME were forged in 1959. Job descriptions and classifications began to be standardized under the New York City Department of Labor.

Schenck was active in professional circles, serving on the Council of the American Association of Museums, as a trustee of the American Federation of Arts, and as secretary and president of the Association of Art Museum Directors.