Henri Gabriel Marceau Curatorial Records

Henri Gabriel Marceau was an internationally known scholar, art historian, and architect. Having earned his degree from Columbia University, and been awarded a prestigious fellowship by the American Academy in Rome, he was well suited to take on the role of Assistant Professor at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1929, during which time he also took on the role of Assistant Curator of the Johnson Collection at the Pennsylvania Museum of Art (1926). When Marceau decided to devote his career entirely to the PMA in 1929 he was promoted from Assistant Curator to Curator of the Johnson Collection - a position that was life long - and also took on the position of Curator of Fine Arts. Throughout his career Marceau held various appointments at the museum, including: Curator of Paintings(1933), Chief of the Department of Paintings and Sculpture (1937), Associate Director (1937-38), and finally Director from 1955 to 1964. In the Associate Director capacity Marceau worked closely with Fiske Kimball, the Director of the PMA from 1925 to 1955. When Kimball was travelling for business or on holiday, Marceau adeptly took on the responsibilities reserved for the director.

Marceau was particularly interested in sculpture, evidenced in the William Rush exhibition, as well as, other international sculpture exhibitions held in the museum's courtyard in the years 1933, 1940, and 1949. It is suggested that Marceau was instrumental in inspiring a renewed interest in sculpture and sculptors at the time he was active in the PMA. “It is impossible to overestimate the distinguished contributions which Mr. Marceau has made to the Museum throughout his devoted years here,” comments Dr. Evan H. Turner, Marceau’s successor as PMA Director.