Minutes, 1875-1998

This series consists of minutes of Board of Trustees meetings and those of the Executive Committee, which was comprised of Board members. Minutes from the meetings of several standing committees, whose chairs were members of the Executive Committee, are also included. The most extensive documentation pertains to the Committee on Museum, which operated later as the Board of Governors, and the Executive Committee. There are also minutes of meetings of the Committee on Instruction, the Finance and Administration Committee, and the Fleisher Art Memorial Committee. Not all minutes are included; therefore there are gaps within the date spans.

The earliest minutes document several meetings held before the Board of Trustees was formally instituted. At the first recorded meeting of July 20, 1875, six gentlemen met at the Commerical Bank in Philadelphia to discuss the feasibility of establishing a Museum of Art in the city. Approximately two months later, members met as the Provisional Committee at the home of Dr. William Platt Pepper, who served as Chair. Minutes from that meeting record that one of the first matters of business was to approve an application to the Board of the State Centennial Supervisors for the use of Memorial Hall. At the October 7, 1875 meeting, the Committee approved a plan of organization, which included the establishment of a Board of Trustees.

In addition to standing committees, a number of committees have been initiated over the years to address the various needs and mission of the Museum. The record groups of individual Directors, as well as those of Julius Zieget, contain minutes pertaining to many of these committees.