Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Bessie Vance Brooks

Birth: 1854
Death: Dec. 5, 1943
Daytona Beach
Volusia County
Florida, USA

In 1913, Bessie Vance Brooks donated $100,000 to the City of Memphis for the construction of a museum in honor of her late husband, Samuel Hamilton Brooks. The Brooks Memorial Art Gallery opened to the public in 1916. The Beaux Arts style building, inspired by the Morgan Library in New York City, was designed by James Gamble Rogers and constructed of Georgian marble. The museum was enlarged in 1955 to secure a gift of thirty-two objects from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which was dependent upon sufficient gallery space to exhibit the artworks. To accommodate the continuing growth of the permanent collection, a further expansion was completed in 1973. In 1983, the institution's name was changed to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and in 1989 the Brooks separated from the city becoming fully private, although the city retains ownership of the building and the bulk of the collection acquired up to that time. The final, award-winning addition, which replaced the 1955 wing, opened in 1989.

Family links:
 Spouse:
  Samuel Hamilton Brooks (1834 - 1912)
 
Burial:
Elmwood Cemetery 
Memphis
Shelby County
Tennessee, USA

Created by: Vincent Astor
Record added: Jul 15, 2011 
Find A Grave Memorial# 73384513
Bessie <i>Vance</i> Brooks
Added by: Vincent Astor
 
Bessie <i>Vance</i> Brooks
Added by: Vincent Astor
 
Bessie <i>Vance</i> Brooks
Added by: Vincent Astor