George Fisk Comfort
Encyclopedia
George Fisk Comfort was a 19th century American scholar and art exponent, and founder of both the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, NY, and Everson Museum of Art
, Syracuse, NY.
Comfort was born in Berkshire, New York
. He graduated from Wesleyan University
in Middletown, CT with an A.B. degree (in classics) in 1857 and an A.M. degree in 1860. After completing his studies at Wesleyan, he traveled to Europe to study art history and archaeology where he stayed until 1865. In Berlin, Comfort was influenced by meetings and studies with the philosopher Friedrich Kaulbach
, Carl Richard Lepsius (curator of Egyptology
at the Berlin Museum), Gemäldegalerie
director Gustav Waagen, Leopold von Ranke
, among others. From 1865 to 1868, he served as professor of languages at Allegheny College
, Meadville, Pennsylvania
.
While residing in New York upon his return to the United States, Comfort helped found the American Philological Society, of which he was president from 1869 to 1874. In 1869, he helped found the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The following year Comfort published his Art Museums in America, a book outlining his vision for museums and museum education in the United States. His other publishing credits include a series of textbooks for the German language. His papers are held at Syracuse University
and the Archives of American Art. Comfort remained on the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art until 1872.
In 1872, he was appointed professor of aesthetics and modern languages at the newly founded Syracuse University. He was instrumental in founding the College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University in 1873. In 1891, he was elected the president of the Southern College of Fine Arts in LaPorte, Texas. In 1896, he founded the Everson Museum of Art at Syracuse, holding its first exhibition in 1900. Under Comfort's leadership, the museum developed the first regular educational program in a museum in America.
Comfort's outline for art museums in the United States became the principal vision, based on the German model, for museums and museum education. His facility in the German language directly transported those ideas to the United States. His famous Union League Club address espoused an art museum for New York that "represent[ed] the History of Art in all countries and in all ages of art both pure and applied."
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, NY, and Everson Museum of Art
Everson Museum of Art
The Everson Museum of Art in Downtown Syracuse, New York is a major Central New York museum focusing on American art.-History:The museum was founded in 1897 by art historian George Fisk Comfort ; at that time, it was called the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts...
, Syracuse, NY.
Comfort was born in Berkshire, New York
Berkshire, New York
Berkshire is a town in Tioga County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 1,366. The town is named after Berkshire County, Massachusetts....
. He graduated from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Middletown, CT with an A.B. degree (in classics) in 1857 and an A.M. degree in 1860. After completing his studies at Wesleyan, he traveled to Europe to study art history and archaeology where he stayed until 1865. In Berlin, Comfort was influenced by meetings and studies with the philosopher Friedrich Kaulbach
Friedrich Kaulbach
Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Kaulbach was a German painter from Bad Arolsen, Hesse. His father was Christian Kaulbach , a cabinet maker in Arolsen. He was also the cousin and at one time the student of the painter Wilhelm von Kaulbach, son of Philipp Karl Friedrich v...
, Carl Richard Lepsius (curator of Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
at the Berlin Museum), Gemäldegalerie
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
The Gemäldegalerie is an art museum in Berlin, Germany. It holds one of the world's leading collections of European art from the 13th to the 18th centuries. It is located on Kulturforum west of Potsdamer Platz. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas...
director Gustav Waagen, Leopold von Ranke
Leopold von Ranke
Leopold von Ranke was a German historian, considered one of the founders of modern source-based history. Ranke set the standards for much of later historical writing, introducing such ideas as reliance on primary sources , an emphasis on narrative history and especially international politics .-...
, among others. From 1865 to 1868, he served as professor of languages at Allegheny College
Allegheny College
Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...
, Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
.
While residing in New York upon his return to the United States, Comfort helped found the American Philological Society, of which he was president from 1869 to 1874. In 1869, he helped found the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The following year Comfort published his Art Museums in America, a book outlining his vision for museums and museum education in the United States. His other publishing credits include a series of textbooks for the German language. His papers are held at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
and the Archives of American Art. Comfort remained on the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art until 1872.
In 1872, he was appointed professor of aesthetics and modern languages at the newly founded Syracuse University. He was instrumental in founding the College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University in 1873. In 1891, he was elected the president of the Southern College of Fine Arts in LaPorte, Texas. In 1896, he founded the Everson Museum of Art at Syracuse, holding its first exhibition in 1900. Under Comfort's leadership, the museum developed the first regular educational program in a museum in America.
Comfort's outline for art museums in the United States became the principal vision, based on the German model, for museums and museum education. His facility in the German language directly transported those ideas to the United States. His famous Union League Club address espoused an art museum for New York that "represent[ed] the History of Art in all countries and in all ages of art both pure and applied."