Discipline: Visual Art

Hugh McKean

Discipline: Visual Art
Region: Winter Park, FL
MacDowell Fellowships: 1937
Hugh McKean (1908-1995) led Rollins College as president from 1951 to 1969, then served as chancellor until 1973, and chairman of the Rollins Board of Trustees from 1969 to 1975. In 1942, Jeannette McKean appointed him as director of the Morse Gallery of Art, which she founded in her grandfather’s name on the Rollins campus. She and McKean were married in 1945. Although his study of art was broad, McKean firmly believed throughout his life that art should be made accessible and understandable to everyone. As director, he wrote sensitive and often humorous labels to describe the work on exhibit at the Morse, sometimes shocking visitors accustomed to a more academic approach. But more often, his object labels delighted those who appreciated his refreshingly unique way of looking at art.

Studios

Alexander

Hugh McKean worked in the Alexander studio.

Originally designed to be a visual art gallery, this facility was built in memory of the late John White Alexander (1856-1915) and funded by Elizabeth Alexander and their son James. John White Alexander was highly regarded as a portrait painter and, in the early part of the 20th century, served…

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