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Elodie Courter Osborn

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Elodie (Courter) Osborn (1911–January 20, 1994) professionalized traveling exhibitions through her work at the Museum of Modern Art (1933–1947) as well as her involvement with UNESCO (1954) and the American Federation of Arts (1940s–50s).[1][2]

Osborn was born in Brooklyn in 1911. She received a B.A. in art history from Wellesley College in 1933.[1]

In 1933 Osborn joined MoMA's newly founded Department of Circulating Exhibitions as a volunteer. She became the program secretary in 1935 and was named Director in 1939, a position she held to 1947.[3][2] Osborn almost single-handedly developed the program’s domestic agenda and was involved in all its aspects, from overall direction to budget to curatorial negotiations to copy editing. Between 1932 and the apex of the program in 1954, MoMA circulated 461 exhibitions among 3,700 venues including K-12 schools, technical colleges, clubs, military installations, and department stores.[4] In Osborn's era, exhibitions circulated internationally[5] but the majority were designed for U.S. use. A notable example of Osborn's efforts is Elements of Design,[6] a 24-panel poster set packaged to travel by mail for installation virtually anywhere, with graphics by designer and artist Robert Wolff.[7]

In the late 1940s and 1950s, Osborn was involved with the American Federation of Arts as an Exhibition Committee advisor and International Exhibitions Committee vice chairman.[1]

In 1953, Osborn authored the UNESCO Manual of Traveling Exhibitions,[8] which received several scholarly reviews.[9][10]

Osborn was also interested in film. She established the Salisbury Film Society (1951), served as an officer of the Robert Flaherty International Film Seminar (1968–1979), and as a MacDowell Colony board member (beginning in 1969) helped to make filmmakers eligible for fellowships.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Smith, Roberta (1994-02-04). "Elodie Osborn, 82, First Director Of the Modern's Traveling Shows". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  2. ^ a b "Modern Women / A Partial History". www.moma.org. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  3. ^ "Department of Circulating Exhibitions Records in The Museum of Modern Art Archives CE". www.moma.org. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  4. ^ "Circulating Exhibitions 1931-1954". The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art. 21 (3/4): 3–30. 1954-01-01. doi:10.2307/4058235. hdl:2027/mdp.39015013647105. JSTOR 4058235.
  5. ^ "The Museum Goes Abroad". The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art. 12 (2): 2–6. 1944-01-01. doi:10.2307/4058166. JSTOR 4058166.
  6. ^ "Elements of Design | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  7. ^ Fowle, Farnsworth (1978-01-02). "Robert J. Wolff, 72, Abstract Artist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  8. ^ "Manual of travelling exhibitions; 1953". unesdoc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  9. ^ Weismann, Donald L. (1954-01-01). "Review of Manual of Travelling Exhibitions". College Art Journal. 13 (3): 245–246. doi:10.2307/772573. JSTOR 772573.
  10. ^ Rice, E. Gordon (1954-01-01). "Review of Manual of Traveling Exhibitions". Art Education. 7 (2): 10–11. doi:10.2307/3183860. JSTOR 3183860.
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