Marion Koogler McNay
Marion Koogler McNay | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jessie Marion Koogler |
| Nationality | USA |
| Known for | Painter |
Marion Koogler McNay (30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890), was a painter and art teacher who inherited a substantial oil fortune upon the death of her parents. She later willed her fortune to be used to establish San Antonio's first museum of modern art. The museum is named after her.[1]
Early life
Marion was born in Ohio to Marion and Clara Koogler. A year after her birth, the family moved to El Dorado, Kansas, where her parents purchased a large tract of pasture land. This land later proved to contain substantial oil reserves, and made the family wealthy.[1] This allowed Marion to attend art school, first at the University of Kansas, and then at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Marriage
Marion married her first husband, railway manager Don McNay, in 1917. The marriage only lasted 10 months, ending with Don's death from influenza. Although Marion went on to marry (and divorce) four more times, she eventually reverted to using the name McNay for the remainder of her life.[1]
Teaching
In 1915, the superintendent of city schools of Marion, Ohio (where Marion was living with her parents, previous to her marriage to Don McNay), wrote that she
is one of the best qualified art teachers I have ever known…. She teaches art in a manner that arouses and develops the child’s observation and enlarges his aesthetic nature.[2]
Art collection
In 1926, Marion moved to San Antonio with her mother and married Dr. Donald Atkinson. On his property, she began to construct a Spanish Mediterranean style mansion (she designed some of the tilework and ceiling stencils herself)[1], and also began to accumulate a significant collection of artwork. The first oil painting she purchased was Diego Rivera’s Delfina Flores. She collected a large number of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works of art, early 20th-century modernists including Picasso, Matisse, and Chagall. She also bought a number of Southwestern santos and retablos.[2]
Pueblo Indian patronage
Marion was a significant patron of the arts among the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, where she made frequent trips.[2] In 1943, Congress proposed a bill providing for the exploration of Pueblo lands with the ultimate goal of building a dam on the Rio Grande river. Marion, in conjunction with other conservationists, was instrumental in defeating this proposal.[1]
Death and art museum establishment
Upon Marion's death in 1950, she willed her fortune, her art collection, and her home to a trust to convert her home into a modern art museum. This was the first museum of its kind in San Antonio. The museum was named after her, and has been expended to include galleries of medieval and Renaissance artwork and a larger collection of 20th-century European and American modernist work. A large theatre arts library and gallery were also added, as well as an art reference library and an auditorium.