Margaret F. S. Glace and Annette Smith Burgess
Today, we celebrate two visionary women whose leadership, artistry, and courage expanded what was possible, not only at MICA, but across their fields. Among them are two extraordinary pioneers: Margaret F. S. Glace, a transformative academic leader who guided the Institute into a new era of accreditation and professionalism, and Annette Smith Burgess, a master medical illustrator whose work helped define modern ophthalmology.
Educator. Leader. Architect of Institutional Transformation.
At a pivotal moment in the Institute’s history, Margaret F. S. Glace stepped forward to lead.
Glace joined the Maryland Institute in 1937 as head of the teacher education department and later served as academic dean. In 1948, she became the first woman to hold the post of dean at an American art school—a groundbreaking achievement at a time when few women occupied senior leadership roles in higher education.
Following the departure of Director Albert Maurice, Glace served as acting director, guiding the Institute through a period of institutional growth and structural change. Her leadership was marked not by spectacle, but by steady, strategic progress.
Under Glace’s leadership the Institute secured full state accreditation in 1948; the bachelor’s degree program was broadened and strengthened; a master’s degree program was introduced in 1954.; the Institute’s first liberal arts courses — history and English — were added to the curriculum; MICA’s foundational first-year program was created, establishing a unified course of study for all students; and photography was added to the BFA offerings in 1959.
These steps laid the groundwork for national accreditation and positioned the Institute as a fully professional, degree-granting college.
In 1959, during her tenure, the Institute formally changed its name to Maryland Institute, College of Art, signaling its evolution and expanding academic ambitions. The campus was consolidated on Mount Royal Avenue, strengthening its physical and institutional identity.
Nationally recognized as an educator of art teachers, Glace also served as a director of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and played a key role in securing the Institute’s accreditation.
Her impact was later honored with an honorary degree and the Institute’s Medal of Honor. Today, Glace Hall stands as a living tribute to her legacy, a space dedicated to student life, community, and the everyday rhythms of campus experience.
Margaret Glace did more than lead. She built the academic framework that would allow future generations of artists to thrive.
Artist. Observer. Pioneer of Medical Illustration.
Before digital imaging and high-resolution photography, understanding the intricate structures of the human eye depended on something extraordinary: the trained eye and disciplined hand of an artist.
Annette Smith Burgess (1899–1962), a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, embodied this rare combination of artistry and scientific precision.
After studying under Max Brödel, the founder of the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, Burgess was recruited in 1926 by Dr. William Holland Wilmer to become the first ophthalmic illustrator at the Wilmer Eye Institute. She would hold the position for more than 35 years.
Without advanced imaging technologies, ophthalmologists were often allowed only fleeting glimpses through an ophthalmoscope. Burgess would observe a patient’s eye for mere seconds at a time, memorizing intricate details of anatomy and pathology before translating them to paper.
To render the retina accurately, she guided patients’ gaze through twelve meridians, carefully reconstructing the full structure through disciplined observation and extraordinary visual memory.
Burgess’s work was not merely beautiful, it was indispensable. Her illustrations were used to educate generations of medical students and physicians by helping explain diagnoses to patients and serve as clinical records to track disease progression.
Over her career, she created nearly all of the illustrations appearing in Wilmer Eye Institute publications. Her work became internationally recognized for revealing structures of the eye that photography could not illuminate.
In 1948, she became an instructor in Johns Hopkins’ Art as Applied to Medicine program. She was a charter member of the Association of Medical Illustrators and was listed in Who’s Who of Women in America.
Nearly a century later, her paintings remain vivid, authoritative references in ophthalmology, a testament to the enduring power of disciplined observation and artistic excellence.
Margaret F. S. Glace and Annette Smith Burgess worked in very different arenas—one in academic leadership, the other in scientific illustration—but both reshaped institutions through precision, perseverance, and vision.
Glace strengthened MICA’s academic identity and expanded its reach. Burgess demonstrated that art is not only expressive—it is essential to discovery, understanding, and healing.
This International Women’s History Month, we honor their contributions and the generations of women who continue to shape MICA’s future with the same courage, rigor, and imagination.
Join the festivities as MICA honors its 200-year history, recognizes its present success, and looks forward to a bright future. Throughout 2026, the College will be sharing community stories and announcing one-of-a-kind events on campus, in Baltimore, and beyond.
