Pilchuck Glass School Mourns Passing of Former Trustee LaMar Harrington

The artists, staff and board of trustees of Pilchuck Glass School mourn the passing of LaMar Harrington, a former trustee and founding member of its Advisory Council, who died on March 23, 2005.

A highly-renowned curator, arts administrator and scholar, Harrington served on Pilchuck’s board from 1981 through 1988, leaving a remarkable legacy. She moved Pilchuck’s annual auction from the school’s Stanwood campus to the Henry Art Gallery, elevating it from an informal fundraiser to an arts happening. She also conceived of and organized the first of Pilchuck’s many collectors’ seminars, attracting artists, museum curators, critics, gallery owners and collectors to educate them about the nascent contemporary glass movement.

Pilchuck Glass School Executive Director Patricia Watkinson knew Harrington as a fellow curator. Watkinson describes her as “a luminary in the history and practice of Northwest art, whose strength and courage as a curator, writer, museum director and lover of many varied arts was also of special inspiration to other women at a time when such inspiration was especially needed.”

Former Pilchuck board president C. David Hughbanks knew Harrington well as they worked together often over the years, most recently regarding the restructuring of the Bellevue Arts Museum. “She was a delightful person and a good friend whose vision and philosophy shaped the Bellevue Arts Museum, Henry Art Gallery, Pilchuck and countless area arts institutions. Her influence will resonate for years to come and she will be missed.”

For more about her remarkable life, visit these links:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/visualart/
217971_harrington30.html

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=
harringtonobit26e&date=20050326 (registration required)

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