Martin Lee Friedman (September 23, 1925 – May 9, 2016) was an American museum curator who spent the majority of his career as the director of the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

and oversaw the opening of the

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is an park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. It is located near the Walker Art Center, which operates it in coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It reopened June 10, 2017 af ...

and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1989.

Early life

Friedman was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania] Friedman earned his bachelor's degree at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. He earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in studio art and art history at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. After graduation, Friedman spent the beginnings of his career teaching art in high schools and colleges around Los Angeles. His transition into curating began after winning a fellowship to study

African art African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, su ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Upon finishing the fellowship, Friedman was hired on as a curator at the

in 1958.

Walker Art Center

The Walker Art Center in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Minnesota, had been around since 1879. The museum originated to showcase the private gallery of lumber baron

T. B. Walker Thomas Barlow Walker (February 1, 1840 – July 28, 1928) was an American business magnate who acquired lumber in Minnesota and California and became an art collector. Walker founded the Minneapolis Public Library. He was among the ten wealthiest ...

in his home and was formally established as the Walker Art Gallery in 1927. While some acquisitions were made between this time and Friedman's hire in 1958, the museum did not begin to take shape until after Friedman began work at the museum. In 1961, Friedman became the director of the museum at the age of 36. He is largely credited for making the museum what it is today. Art critic

Richard Eder Richard Gray Eder (August 16, 1932 – November 21, 2014) was an American film reviewer and a drama critic. Life and career For 20 years, he was variously a foreign correspondent, a film reviewer and the drama critic for ''The New York Times''. ...

described Friedman as "a mixture of professor, Puck, and

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

". Eder went on to credit Friedman for turning the Walker into "one of the finest modern art museums in America." In his 30 year tenure, Friedman oversaw myriad improvements, additions and acquisitions by the museum. Most notably, he oversaw the creation of the new Walker Art Center in 1971 and the

in 1988. Friedman was known for being detailed about every aspect of the museum. During the construction of the new art center, Friedman rejected entire shipments of brick for having slightly askew glaze. He also would repeatedly change the shade of grey or white paint in a gallery to match the corresponding art and even had crews shovel over dirty snow.

Retirement and legacy

Friedman informally retired to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in 1990. In his later years, Friedman continued to write about the art world and oversaw smaller projects such as sculpture collections at

Madison Square Park Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States. ...

. In 1988, Friedman was awarded the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

. Friedman mentored many curators during his tenure that went on to prominent roles in the art world. Adam Weinberg, the current director of the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

, described himself as a protege of Friedman. Weinberg said of Friedman, “Martin understood that the power of a museum comes from giving voice to artists as well as showcasing their art. He was a major voice for artists and a real champion of freedom of expression.” In 2016, Friedman died at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Martin 1925 births 2016 deaths Writers from Pittsburgh Directors of museums in the United States University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Washington alumni