| Scott, Virginia Steele | |||||||
| type | Collector Patron | ||||||
| dates | 1905-1975 | ||||||
| city | Pasadena | ||||||
| state | CA | ||||||
| other cities | Pittsburgh, PA; | ||||||
| sex | F | ||||||
| history |
Virginia Steele Scott was an heiress who lived in Pasadena and married a local artist, Jonathan Scott. Her eclectic art collection included works by Gauguin and Picasso. Scott initially sought to establish a museum within her home. The local government halted the development due to zoning restrictions. Scott then decided to sell off her original collection and establish a new, American-centered collection, with the ultimate goal of endowing it to a local museum. She bought fifty paintings by American artists over a short period in the late 1970s, which she donated to the Huntington Gallery with funding for a gallery to house the collection and an endowment for a curator to manage it. Designed by Paul Gray, The Virginia Steele Scott Gallery of American Art opened to the public in 1984, inaugurating American art as a significant part of The Huntington's collections. Since then, the American art collection has grown dramatically, largely through the support of the Scott Foundation. |
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| decades | 1970-1980 | ||||||
| updated | 11/24/2025 10:11:51 | ||||||
| research links |
Search FRESCO (Frick Research Catalog Online) Search Worldcat Search Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) Search Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) | ||||||
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