Skip to main content

Turner, Evan H.

 Person

Biography

Evan H. Turner (born 1927), an art historian and scholar, was the Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) from 1964 to 1978, leading the Museum through a period of significant growth and transformation. He created new art departments for American and 20th Century Art, and the innovative Department of Urban Outreach (DUO) to promote art across the City of Philadelphia. These progressive activities were matched by a groundbreaking exhibition in 1973, the Marcel Duchamp retrospective, which drew upon significant scholarship and assembled virtually the entire oeuvre of one of the most important artists represented in the Museum. In 1975, Turner led the Museum in a major construction project to install a new climate control system in the building, and in 1976, he helped plan the United States’ Bicentennial and the PMA’s Centennial celebrations. Turner was an active member of a number of professional organizations, as well as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Found in 53 Collections and/or Records:

Correspondence from Alyce Nash to Evan H. Turner, 1969 November 24

 Object — Box: 1, Folder: 1
Identifier: MDE_B001_F006_003
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Alyce Nash, American Academy of Arts and Letters, to Evan H. Turner, Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Dates: 1969 November 24

Correspondence from Anne d'Harnoncourt to Evan H. Turner, 1971 June 2

 Object — Box: 11, Folder: 14
Identifier: MDE_B011_F014_005
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Anne d'Harnoncourt to Evan H. Turner, Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Dates: 1971 June 2

Correspondence from Arturo Schwarz to Evan H. Turner, 1969 July 11

 Object — Box: 6, Folder: 22
Identifier: EDR_B006_F022_005
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Arturo Schwarz to Evan H. Turner.

Dates: 1969 July 11

Correspondence from Blanchette Rockefeller to George Cheston, 1973 September 21

 Object — Box: 2, Folder: 56
Identifier: MDE_B002_F056_003
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Blanchette Rockefeller to George Cheston, President of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Dates: 1973 September 21

Correspondence from Cleve Gray to Evan H. Turner, 1969 February 15

 Object — Box: 6, Folder: 2
Identifier: EDR_B006_F002_004
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Cleve Gray to Evan H. Turner.

Dates: 1969 February 15

Correspondence from Donald Mason to Evan H. Turner, 1971 December 28

 Object — Box: 1, Folder: 5
Identifier: MDE_B001_F005_008
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Donald Mason, Federal Bureau of Investigation, to Evan H. Turner, Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Dates: 1971 December 28

Correspondence from Evan H. Turner and Alexina Duchamp to Arturo Schwarz, 1969 March 20-24

 Object — Box: 6, Folder: 22
Identifier: EDR_B006_F022_027
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Evan H. Turner and Alexina Duchamp to Arturo Schwarz.

Dates: 1969 March 20-24

Correspondence from Evan H. Turner and Richard E. Oldenburg to E. Laurence Chalmers, Jr., 1972 November 6

 Object — Box: 10, Folder: 1
Identifier: MDE_B010_F001_001
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Evan H. Turner, Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Richard E. Oldenburg, Director of the Museum of Modern Art, to E. Laurence Chalmers, Jr., Director of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Dates: 1972 November 6

Correspondence from Jeanne Thayer to Evan H. Turner, 1973 October 8

 Object — Box: 10, Folder: 17
Identifier: MDE_B011_F017_009
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from Jeanne Thayer, Chairman of the Hospitality Committee for the Museum of Modern Art, to Evan H. Turner, Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Includes additions to invitation list for New York opening of Marcel Duchamp exhibition.

Dates: 1973 October 8

Correspondence from John B. Hightower to Evan H. Turner, 1971 March 31

 Object — Box: 11, Folder: 14
Identifier: MDE_B011_F014_011
Scope and Contents

Correspondence from John B. Hightower, Director of the Museum of Modern Art, to Evan H. Turner, Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Dates: 1971 March 31

Filtered By

  • Subject: New York City, United States X

Additional filters:

Subject
correspondence 49
Philadelphia, United States 6
memorandums 3
minutes (administrative records) 2
grant proposals 1