September 15: opening celebration
A generous grant from Jeanne ’55 and Carroll Berry, which includes their library of books on The Irascibles and mid-century abstraction, has allowed us to recreate the reading area that was original to the building, on the south side of the first floor. The Berrys’ collection focuses on The Irascibles, the eighteen abstract expressionist painters who signed an open letter protesting the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibition American Painting Today – 1950 for its omission of “advanced painting.” The collection adds to Agnes Scott’s scholarly resourceson mid-century abstract art; the subjects in the library complement the modernaesthetic of Portman’s building.
The collection is housed on shelving and furniture that honors the mid-century aesthetic vision of the building and of the Irascibles themselves. The library serves a range of purposes, providing inspiring visual resources and imagery, augmenting available research materials as well as restoring and maintaining our historically significant building and furnishings to renew a thoughtfully-designed, shared space for Agnes Scott’s community.
And special thanks to The Reading Room, Decatur (Kristin Radcliffe, Mary Tveit, and Emmett Munzing) for making the celebration so special!
