Committee Has Started Studies of Art Facilities

An eight-month survey of art facilities in the College and Graduate Schools has been launched by a special Committee on Visual Arts, it was learned last night.

Appointed by President Pusey, the seven-man committee is expected to report on long-range findings in the field of art, pertinent to the whole field of higher education. The group will try to find the most fruitful uses for the University's fine arts resources.

Since these findings may affect many other universities, the Rockefeller Foundation has contributed half of the funds for the survey's completion. The group, headed by former Overseer John Nicholas Brown '22, will primarily investigate the relationship between the teaching of art and the General Education program, as well as that between practice-theory art courses and courses in art-history.

During its investigation the committee hopes to determine the best use of Fogg Museum by departments other than Fine Arts. It will survey the University's art museums, the Busch-Reisinger Museum of German Culture, the Graduate School of Design, and the art resources of Widener, Houghton, and Lamont libraries.

Besides Brown, other members of the committee are Lane Faison, Jr., Chairman of Williams College's Art Department; Dean Keppel of the School of Education; Donald Oenslager '23, prominent stage designer and member of the staff of the Yale School of Drams; Charles Sawyer, Dean of the Division of Arts of Yale University; Wolfgang Stechow, professor of Art at Oberlin College; George Wald, professor of Biology; and John Walker '30, Chief Curator of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

The idea for this study originated in a recent discussion of the Overseers Committee to Visit the Department of Fine Arts and Fogg Museum.

Faison, the group's Executive Secretary, said the time for the study seemed appropriate because of appointments of a new Dean of the School of Design, and new appointments in the Fine Arts Department.