Museum continues to provide community with beauty, goodness, truth

written by REBECCA MASSIE LANE

DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS –WASHINGTON COUNTY

The Museum of Fine Arts – Washington County (MFA- WC) marked a milestone July 22, 2020, as we reopened our doors to museum members and volunteers. On July 28, the MFA opened to the public.

We are living in a difficult time. In the four months since mid-March, we have experienced grief, sorrow and suffering. The unprecedented events of 2020 have altered our way of thinking.

The MFA, originally called Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, was founded just before the 1929 stock market crash. Yet the community had faith in this great idea, and the Museum of Fine Arts opened and was a bright spot of hope during the Great Depression. Hagerstonian Hilda Shotwell grew up in the West End during that time, and the museum helped shape her into the successful photographer she became.

Tish Johnson, widow of the late Robert Johnson, for whom the Robert W. Johnson Community Center in Hagerstown is named, is with Janice Curtis Greene, who presented a historical interpretation of Harriet Tubman in the summer of 2019 at the museum.

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Three decades later, Dr. Kevin Murray moved to Hagerstown from urban New Jersey. He said the museum provided him with “an oasis of culture and solitude” that he treasured “more than words can express.”

People have faced insurmountable troubles each successive era, and the MFA continued to provide the community with beauty, goodness and truth.

As I write this, my final column, I invite you to remember with me as I recount some of the milestones of the past 12 years:

• We completed the beautiful Anne and Howard Kaylor Atrium. The room has become a place for community gatherings and special family occasions.

• We hosted many special exhibitions, including “The Wyeth Family Artists,” “The Valley of the Shadow,” “85 Years of Art Education” and more recently, “The Blues and the Abstract Truth: Voices of African-American Art.”

• We expanded the regional Cumberland Valley Artists and Photographers exhibition, and added an awards ceremony and reception to recognize the artists.

Rebecca Massie Lane sits beside a sculpture of a child in this photo taken in July to announce the museum’s reopening. The sculpture, Garden Sprite, was created by L'Deane Trueblood and is just outside the museum's entry.

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• We refurbished and reinterpreted the Singer Memorial Gallery, and later the American 19th- and 20th-century galleries, bringing beloved works from the art collections into view.

• We refreshed educational programming with interactivity and deep-thinking exercises, while strengthening the museum’s relationship with Washington County Public Schools.

• We launched a Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day at the MFA; a plein-air painting event; and, in June 2020, in the first weeks of reopening after the stay-at-home order was lifted, an outdoor photo marathon.

• Together, we created the “1,000 Cranes” community art project in celebration of the 85th anniversary on view in the beautiful atrium, and we were honored when Yumi Hogan, Maryland’s first lady, co-chaired the anniversary gala with Howard Kaylor.

• We completed major building maintenance and upgrades, including energy-efficient white roofing overhead. We received a City of Hagerstown beautification award for improvements to the North Entry Plaza. We completed a building systems and energy audit, and completely upgraded and modernized the aging HVAC system, which includes a high-performing air-purification system, a necessity in today’s environment.

Above Right: Students from Frederick’s Mid-Maryland Performing Arts Center interpret a painting by American Impressionist painter, Richard E.Miller (1875-1943), in the Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County’s Singer Gallery.

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• We developed a marketing plan, and created a new brand and logo for the museum.

• We balanced the budget and launched a legacy endowment program to enhance our artistic and educational programs. The Stine-Schreiber family fully endowed the curator’s position, and the Nora Roberts Foundation contributed half of the needed endowment for the museum educator. The positive results of those endowed funds are already being felt. Thanks to efforts by volunteers and staff, we now have a more stable and sustainable financial outlook.

All of these improvements have resulted in a museum that is deeply connected to the community's needs and aspirations. The museum has broadened its diverse audiences; welcomed new visitors; and expanded access to art and programming through in-person events, its website and social media.

I hope you join me in celebrating the Museum of Fine Arts. Together, we have experienced 12 wonderful, artful years.

As I move into retirement, I ask you to give the new MFA-WC director, Sarah Hall, the same generous support you have given me.

As I leave my time of service, I wish you hope, gratitude, memorable experiences and celebrations as you enjoy the Museum of Fine Arts in the decades to come. Thank you for your support and encouragement as we did our best to awaken, inspire and uplift the people of Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, and the surrounding fourstate and mid-Atlantic regions through the transformative power of art.

Rebecca Massie Lane poses with a bronze sculpture of abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the Old House Chambers of the Maryland State House in Annapolis. In this same room, Maryland adopted a new constitution banning slavery in November 1864. Lane was in Annapolis for Maryland Arts Day where she was honored with the Maryland Sue Hess Arts 2020 Advocate of the Year Award.

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My husband, Douglas, and I will remain here for the foreseeable future, and we look forward to seeing you in the spaces and places of this fine community.

Editor’s note: Rebecca Massie Lane recently retired as director of the Museum of Fine Arts – Washington County after 12 years of service.