Discipline: Literature – nonfiction

Laurence Coleman

Discipline: Literature – nonfiction
Region: Goshen, NY
MacDowell Fellowships: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1945, 1946

Laurence Vail Coleman (1893-1982) was an American writer and museum director. He attended Yale and Harvard University, and was named Director of the American Association of Museums in 1943. Coleman authored numerous books about museums, most notably Historic House Museums (1933), and was considered the expert on this topic at the time. He was also a frequent Fellow at MacDowell, having worked there six times between 1936 and 1946. Coleman retired from the American Association of Museums in 1958 and was named Director Emeritus for his lifetime achievements.

Studios

Barnard

Laurence Coleman worked in the Barnard studio.

Originally built near MacDowell's Union Street entrance, the Barnard Studio — which was funded by Barnard College music students — was re-located to its current site in 1910. When the small structure was moved, its size was doubled with the addition of a second room. This remodeling, financed by Mrs. Thomas E. Emery of Cincinnati…

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