"If art of today is overlooked, or misunderstood, the loss is serious. Art fails then to give its full value to daily life." * Grace McCann Morley.
When Morley retired, she left behind a thriving organization with forty-four hundred members and a collection of over three thousand works of art. She tacked San Francisco's provincial outlook with missionary zeal. When she purchased Klee's painting "Fast getroffen" (Nearly Hit, 1927), a disgruntled anonymous museum member sent her a note, "What a disgrace for a choice." She responded with a courteous letter, reinforcing her clear-eyed goal of broadening the viewer's vision. There are numerous examples in the exhibit of her friendly but non-nonsense answers to these critics, from typewritten letters (no typos!) to the educational programs and films that she instituted at the museum.
Her reply to another letter questioning the purchase of another piece of modern art was to suggest that he take one of the numerous courses at the museum and a reading list. She was no pompous elitist nor did she sneer at those who didn't immediately share her goals of promoting cultural democracy - "that art should be available to everyone. She held firm convictions about the crucial role that museums could play in this endeavor: "If art of today is overlooked, or misunderstood, the loss is serious. Art fails then to give its full value to daily life." *
While never being condescending, Morley's "something for everyone" philosophy paid double dividends when she presented a Picasso retrospective in 1940. There was such great public interest that, on the last day of the show, thirteen hundred visitors refused to leave "until they had had their fill." The event was so amazing that it was reported in over fifty newspapers all over the country.
Grace wrote a Life magazine article about the 1927 Klee painting, "Fast getroffen," which was causing some perplexed reactions from museum goers. "Art is not always solemn. Artists often invite the public to laugh with them..", Morley wrote. On this particular piece, she pointed out that "..the colors and brush strokes create a background full of life; the direct, economic lines produce a shorthand symbol of narrow of a narrow escape...Much of Klee's work has this power of symbol and art." (Life Magazine, 1935). It is one of the clearest and most perceptive pieces on Klee that I have ever read.
She wrote the first chapter of SF MOMA's history and what a saga it was. Her legacy to us was beyond compare.
*Bishop, Janet, Keller Corey, Roberts Sarah (eds). San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 75 Years of Looking Forward. Catalogue to the exhibition. 2010. Essay by Kara Kir
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