Visual and Performing Arts

Fearing a "conservative public": The dial collection in Worcester

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The Worcester Art Museum staged an exhibition of the modernist Dial Collection in 1924, featuring expressive, vibrant paintings by Matisse, Bonnard, Munch, Demuth, Picasso, and others. This article takes the exhibition as a case study that reveals lesser-known circuits of transmission for modern art in the U.S. in the decade after the Armory Show. Motivations both selfish and grand brought The Dial’s avant-garde art to this mid-level city. Scofield Thayer, editor of The Dial, was enterprising and opportunistic in seeking publicity for his collection, and he expressed little respect for the cultural conservatism that occasionally surfaced in Worcester. The museum’s director, Raymond Henniker-Heaton, was a determined, risk-taking administrator. His willingness to bring the Dial Collection to the museum, despite the reservations of his board of trustees, was part of a much larger campaign to establish Worcester as a venue for cutting-edge art. The Dial Collection eventually became a much-loved fixture in Worcester, and this case study demonstrates how the initial exposure to avant-garde art for audiences outside of cultural centers was a consequence of ambition, open-mindedness, and also self-interest.

Publication Title

American Art

Publication Date

9-1-2013

Volume

27

Issue

3

First Page

27

Last Page

33

ISSN

1073-9300

DOI

10.1086/674927

Keywords

Worcester Art Museum, Dial Collection, museum collections

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS