The Hyde Collection, an internationally known art museum in Glens Falls, New York, has received a major donation from a leading national news anchor.
The Hyde Collection announced it has been gifted a large collection of photographs from ABC news anchor and political correspondent George Stephanopoulos, who also worked in the Clinton White House. Hyde director Charles Guerin said the donation comes from a man whose collection is well known in the photography world.
“George Stephanopoulos is a major collector of photography, his collection is widely known in photography circles, and for him to reach out to us and to offer 128 noteworthy and important photographs was just like, ‘Oh my God, look at this,’” said Guerin.
Guerin said the Hyde was approached by a member of Stephanopoulos’ staff. The donation greatly bolsters the museum’s permanent collection, which prior to the gift had only featured four photographs.
Currently, the Hyde has two photography exhibits, one featuring pieces by American landscape photographer Ansel Adams, the other featuring pieces from the Photo-Secession movement in the early 20th century.
Guerin said that while many of the photographers included in Stephanopoulos may not be as commonly known as Ansel Adams, they’re nonetheless significant.
“None of them are sort of household names like Ansel Adams would be but in the photography world they’re very prominent and important American photographers. Probably Garry Winogrand is probably the most generally well-known of those in the collection,” said Guerin.
In a release, Stephanopoulos said, “Our whole family is thrilled that this collection has found the perfect home. Knowing these images will be seen and valued makes us very happy.”
A full list of the photographers can be found at WAMC.org.
Recently, the Hyde was also recognized in an international seminar for its efforts in reaching visitors with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other disabilities.
The Hyde’s Here and Now program was included as a model in a training course titled Acessibility to Cultural Institutions by People with Cognitive Disabilities, held this past January in Milan.
June Leary, the Hyde’s curator of education, said the Here and Now program focuses on educating small groups on pieces in a guided tour.
“It’s a discussion program where everybody participating is looking at the same image, so there’s no need for recall or any particular education in the subject matter, everybody’s looking at the same thing, which seems to encourage conversation because there’s not that hesitation of ‘I don’t remember,’ it’s, ‘I see this.’”
According to Leary, about 50 individuals take part in the program monthly.
Other institutions recognized by the international seminar included the Kimball, Fort Worth, Texas, the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim, and Museum of Modern Art, and several others in America and abroad.
Photographers included in the donation include:
Ilse Bing, American, b. Germany (1899-1998)
Henri Cartier-Bresson, French (1908-2004)
William E. Dassonville, American (1879-1957)
Mike Disfarmer, American (1884-1959)
Larry Fink, American (b. 1941)
Mario Finocchiaro, Italian (1920-1999)
Leonard Freed, American (1929-2006)
Yousuf Karsh, Canadian (1908-2002)
Jeannette Klute, American (1918-2009)
Leon Levinstein, American (1910-1988)
Joel Meyerowitz, American (b. 1938)
Michael A. Smith, American (b.1942)
Karl Struss, American (1886-1981)
Garry Winogrand, American (1928-1984).
