In its December 2009 issue, Baltimore magazine highlights the most interesting moments of 2009 in an article entitled High Five! The news of former director of Hoffberger School of Painting Grace Hartigan bequeathing more than $1 million in paintings to MICA and Maryland Art Place topped the magazine's list for Arts & Culture.

"When Grace Hartigan passed away last November, Baltimore lost more than its most celebrated artist. We lost an educator and arts advocate who consistently looked toward the future. Hartigan, who made her name in the 1950s as an abstract expressionist and friend of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, contributed mightily to Baltimore's art scene as the director of MICA's Hoffberger School of Painting (for more than 40 years!) and as a champion of up-and-coming artists. And her legacy figures to continue.

"In September, it was announced that Hartigan had left more than $1 million in paintings to MICA and Maryland Art Place (MAP), the contemporary art center in Market Place. Hartigan bequeathed a dozen pieces to MICA, and five to MAP, to benefit young artists and help fund future projects. In an announcement posted on MICA's website, President Fred Lazarus noted the significance and spirit of the endowment. 'Grace mentored generations of artists during her lifetime,' he said. 'Her teaching legacy continues with this extraordinary gift.' "

 

Image caption: Grace Hartigan, Night in Tunisia, oil on linen, 2000, 60" x 78."

 

 

Founded in 1826, MICA is among the top visual arts colleges in the nation. It enrolls 1,714 undergraduate and 218 graduate students from 48 states and 52 foreign countries, offering programs of study leading to the bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.), master of arts (M.A.), and master of fine arts (M.F.A.) degrees. It also offers post-baccalaureate certificate programs and a full slate of credit and noncredit courses for adults, college-bound students, and children. MICA is recognized as an important cultural resource for the Baltimore/Washington region, sponsoring many public and community-outreach programs-including more than 100 exhibitions by students, faculty, and nationally and internationally known artists annually-as well as artists' residencies, film series, lectures, readings, and performances.

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