Philanthropy spotlight: Ed Osowski

Ed Osowski

Ed Osowski’s interest, curiosity, and passion for art began at an early age when his father brought him to the Worcester Art Museum in the 1950s. The visit and recollection are quite vivid, as Ed recalls viewing the Picasso drawing Three Nudes Reclining on the Beach—his first exposure to how art and art expression push the boundaries of everyday life. He returned to the Museum for a Pop Art show during his high school years. Attending the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester Ed started to visit the Museum regularly. He found the galleries quite contemplative and even wrote a term paper in the Chapter House, reveling in the history of the building as the first complete medieval structure to be brought to the United States from Europe. Ed’s academic journey continued with a fellowship to study literature at Rice University in Houston, followed by a year of study at Simmons College. Back in Texas, Ed started writing grants for the Houston Public Library. That funding allowed him to hire photographers and writers for publications on Houston's built and social environments. Resonating with the photojournalism of his childhood through his father’s Life and Look magazines, he became even more fascinated with photography and its ability to capture the cultural and social fabric of life. He joined the Houston Center for Photography and became the book editor for its quarterly, reviewing exhibitions and books, formalizing a program for seeking donations to establish its library, and eventually serving as president in the early 1990s. Following the death of his father, Ed connected with David Acton, WAM’s Prints, Drawings, and Photographs Curator at the time, and arranged for the purchase of a photograph in memory of his father. He also secured a donation of a matching work from the artist. That single purchase for WAM led to an involvement that has included direct purchases from artists and galleries of works for the collection, securing donations from photographers and collectors, and the donation of funds for items to strengthen the photo holdings. In fact, his donated cyanotype photograph (pictured above) was the cover for the Cyanotype: Photography’s Blue Period exhibition catalog in 2016. At the same time, Ed decided to honor his life partner by establishing an endowed fund, the Douglas Cox and Edward Osowski Fund for Photography, which will have a lasting impact on the Museum’s ability to purchase photos in perpetuity. While he could have supported the museums in Houston, Ed made a conscious decision to benefit WAM with his financial support, having learned his appreciation for art at the Worcester Art Museum. Ed also found it meaningful that WAM was one of the first museums to recognize photography as an art form and held annual photography exhibitions since 1904. Staying connected to WAM, Ed helped to contribute to the 2004 exhibition catalog “Keeping Shadows.” Because of his commitment to the Museum, he was asked to become a Corporator in 2012. Ed has taken that role to heart, joining the Salisbury Society with an annual gift, supporting the WAM fundraiser every year, and connecting his network of photographers, artist friends, and collectors with Nancy Burns, the current Stoddard Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs. Most recently, Ed has announced that he has included the Museum in his will.

Ed is a wonderful example of how you can support a museum—from establishing an endowed fund, to providing annual support for membership and fundraisers, to helping expand the collection with gifts or financial support, to leaving a legacy gift. We are grateful that Ed, now living in Texas, remembers his early inspiration at the Worcester Art Museum and that he has chosen to contribute in so many ways to WAM now and into the future. We thank him for his unwavering and steadfast support.

Ed Osowski, © Sharon Stewart David Emitt Adams, 111 Degrees, Facing West, wet plate collodion tintype made on object found in the Sonoran Desert, Funded by the Douglas Cox and Edward Osowski Fund for Photography, 2018.49 Left: Meghann Riepenhoff, Littoral Drift #3 (Rodeo Beach, CA), cyanotype diptych on wove paper, Funded by the Douglas Cox and Edward Osowski Fund for Photography in memory of Robert A. Royka (1933–1996) and in honor of Margaret Kent Royka, 2015.44