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Barnard
College Unveils Portrait of Ellen V. Futter in Presidential
Gallery
 February
12, 2003--The portrait gallery at Barnard College’s Sulzberger
Parlor on Morningside Heights was the scene on Wednesday evening
(2-12-03) of a gathering of college trustees past and present
and the current and former presidents of Barnard for the formal
unveiling of a portrait of Ellen V. Futter, Barnard
president from 1981 to 1993. Futter became president of the
American Museum of Natural History after serving as Barnard’s
president, which she began as the youngest person then to
assume the presidency of a major American college. She graduated
from Barnard Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in 1971.
Viewing the portrait by Jon Swihart, Futter, noting that she
began her work at Barnard more than 20 years earlier, mused:
"Clearly the key to a great portrait is having it done
of you at a younger age."
Judith Shapiro, welcomed the gathering to Sulzberger
Parlor, where portraits of other Barnard presidents and deans
hang, and after the Futter portrait was unveiled to applause,
said:"This is one of those happy occasions at Barnard
when we look both forward and back. Ellen's presidency laid
a strong foundation for the continuing upward trajectory we
have been seeing at Barnard, and which we are confident will
continue into the future. Today, with this lovely portrait,
we honor a wonderful Barnard woman, an unusually precocious
college president who was ready at an early age to fulfill
the responsibilities of her role with detemination, distinction,
savvy and verve."
Barnard commissioned the portrait by Swihart, who is known
for his representational and genre paintings. A Southern Californian,
he has exhibited his work in museums and galleries worldwide.
The portrait unveiling followed a meeting of the Barnard Trustees
and brought together current and former members of the board
including Helene Kaplan, emerita chair of the Barnard
trustees who served in that capacity during Futter’s
presidency.
Barnard has recently presented a campus master plan and is
in the process of selecting an architect to build the centerpiece
of the plan, a $41 million six-story building that will house
a new library, student center, classrooms and major event
space.
Contact
s:
Barnard
College:
Suzanne Trimel, (212) 854-7583, strimel@barnard.edu
Museum of Natural History:
Anne Canty, (212) 769-5973, canty@amnh.org
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