Cornelia Bentley Sage Quinton (October 3, 1876 – May 16, 1936) was an American painter and curator. She was the director of the Albright Art Museum (later the Albright-Knox Art Gallery) in Buffalo, New York, from 1910 through 1924. Upon her appointment as director on October 15, 1910, she became the first woman to serve as director of a major art museum in the United States.

Life

Sage was born on October 3, 1876, in Buffalo, New York. She attended the Art Students League in both Buffalo and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

City, and the École du Louvre in Paris, France. Sage married William Warren Quinton on Oct 31, 1917. Quinton began working at the Albright Art Museum in May 1905. She became director of the museum in 1910 after the sudden death of Charles M. Kurtz. Quinton organized noteworthy exhibitions at Albright Art Museum such as the ''International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography'' in 1910, and the ''Exhibition of Contemporary American Sculpture'' in 1916. The ''International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography'' was the first photography exhibition held at an American museum. The ''Exhibition of Contemporary American Sculpture'' featured more than 800 works of sculpture by 168 contemporary American artists. In 1920 Quinton received Cross of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

from France for her work promoting French art during WWI. Quinton left the Albright Art Museum in 1924 to become the director of California Palace of the Legion of Honor, a position she held until 1930. Quinton died on May 16, 1936, in Santa Barbara, California.

Legacy

In 2002 Quinton was honored by the WNY Friends of the

National Women's Hall of Fame The National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) is an American institution incorporated in 1969 by a group of men and women in Seneca Falls, New York, although it did not induct its first enshrinees until 1973. As of 2021, it had 303 inductees. Induc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinton, Cornelia Bentley Sage 1876 births 1936 deaths Directors of museums in the United States American women museum directors Artists from Buffalo, New York 20th-century American women painters 20th-century American painters