Eugene Thaw (1927-2018)
The Otsego Institute's great friend, Eugene (“Gene”) Victor Thaw, who passed away in January 2018, was one of the premier art connoisseurs, dealers and collectors of his time. His interests ranged the world, the ages, and the arts, from seven centuries of master drawings, jewelry of the Migration period on the Eurasian steppes, and watercolors of classic European interiors, to architects' models for elaborate stairs and other features, faience ceramics, and Van Gogh’s letters (these last he purchased for the Morgan Library, a typical gesture). Additionally, he supported and encouraged the careers of artists whose work he admired.
Fortunately for us, Gene and his wife Clare became interested in Native American art while living in Santa Fe. They started with art of the Plains peoples, but, predictably, Gene soon expanded his interests to encompass the whole field, applying the same unrelenting standards of scholarship and quality to building that collection as he had to all the others. Gene and Clare did not keep their collections, but gave them away to institutions where they would be preserved and made accessible to the public, continually enriching our cultural conversations.
The Thaws owned a farm near Cooperstown, New York, and when it was time to find an appropriate home for their Native American collection, the local Fenimore Art Museum stepped forward. To house it, a new wing was added in Gene and Clare’s name to the existing building, and the Thaw Collection of Native American art was installed. Shortly thereafter, in 1996 Gene supported the founding of the Otsego Institute in Cooperstown to encourage the appreciation and understanding of Native American art through rigorous and close study of objects by established scholars, graduate students, and other community professionals, using the Thaw Collection and the Fenimore Art Museum as teaching platforms. Gene was an essential patron of our work in all regards, often dropping by the Institute’s summer workshops to meet the participants, Native and non-Native, whose careers he helped nurture. By 2017, sixty-eight young professionals—academics, curators, artists, and cultural center workers—have benefited from their engagement with faculty mentors, one another, and Gene’s superb collection. All who have been involved in the Otsego Institute will sorely miss him, particularly those of us who were fortunate to have experienced first hand the great generosity that marked all of his dealings, both public and private.
The Otsego Institute's great friend, Eugene (“Gene”) Victor Thaw, who passed away in January 2018, was one of the premier art connoisseurs, dealers and collectors of his time. His interests ranged the world, the ages, and the arts, from seven centuries of master drawings, jewelry of the Migration period on the Eurasian steppes, and watercolors of classic European interiors, to architects' models for elaborate stairs and other features, faience ceramics, and Van Gogh’s letters (these last he purchased for the Morgan Library, a typical gesture). Additionally, he supported and encouraged the careers of artists whose work he admired.
Fortunately for us, Gene and his wife Clare became interested in Native American art while living in Santa Fe. They started with art of the Plains peoples, but, predictably, Gene soon expanded his interests to encompass the whole field, applying the same unrelenting standards of scholarship and quality to building that collection as he had to all the others. Gene and Clare did not keep their collections, but gave them away to institutions where they would be preserved and made accessible to the public, continually enriching our cultural conversations.
The Thaws owned a farm near Cooperstown, New York, and when it was time to find an appropriate home for their Native American collection, the local Fenimore Art Museum stepped forward. To house it, a new wing was added in Gene and Clare’s name to the existing building, and the Thaw Collection of Native American art was installed. Shortly thereafter, in 1996 Gene supported the founding of the Otsego Institute in Cooperstown to encourage the appreciation and understanding of Native American art through rigorous and close study of objects by established scholars, graduate students, and other community professionals, using the Thaw Collection and the Fenimore Art Museum as teaching platforms. Gene was an essential patron of our work in all regards, often dropping by the Institute’s summer workshops to meet the participants, Native and non-Native, whose careers he helped nurture. By 2017, sixty-eight young professionals—academics, curators, artists, and cultural center workers—have benefited from their engagement with faculty mentors, one another, and Gene’s superb collection. All who have been involved in the Otsego Institute will sorely miss him, particularly those of us who were fortunate to have experienced first hand the great generosity that marked all of his dealings, both public and private.