LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Grant Holcomb upon the occasion of his
retirement as the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director of the Memorial
Art Gallery of the University of Rochester after 28 years of distin-
guished leadership and service

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body seeks to acknowledge those individuals
whose professional lives and civic endeavors serve to enhance the stat-
ure of the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Grant Holcomb upon the occasion of his retirement as the Mary W. and
Donald R. Clark Director of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University
of Rochester after 28 years of distinguished leadership and service; he
will officially step down from his position effective July 1, 2014; and
WHEREAS, Grant Holcomb is the sixth director of the University of
Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery; he assumed the directorship in 1985
and, over the ensuing three decades, has built a singular legacy of
quality, character and community engagement; and
WHEREAS, Grant Holcomb's commitment to sharing the art experience with
everyone, regardless of background, translated into innovative collabo-
rative partnerships with cultural, educational, and medical organiza-
tions, including Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Garth Fagan Dance,
George Eastman House, University of Rochester Medical Center, the ARC of
Monroe, and the Alzheimer's Association; these and other enterprises
kept the gallery an active leader for public engagement; and
WHEREAS, Under Grant Holcomb's visionary direction, the Memorial Art
Gallery initiated high-profile exhibitions featuring the work of
Maxfield Parrish, Edgar Degas, Georgia O'Keefe, and Jacob Lawrence; the
gallery also acquired works of art ranging from an ancient Egyptian
sarcophagus and a Renaissance suit of armor, to pieces by such noted
19th and 20th-century artists as Albert Bierstadt, Leonard Volk, Jaune
Quick-To-See Smith, and Christian Boltanski; and
WHEREAS, Grant Holcomb changed and enhanced the buildings and grounds
of the Memorial Art Gallery; he oversaw the addition of the Vanden Brul
Pavilion early in his tenure, which established a new indoor art space
and main Gallery entrance, and recently saw the completion of Centennial
Sculpture Park; and
WHEREAS, In his official acts, Grant Holcomb was governed by a keen
sense of duty and always showed a unique grasp of human problems; his
leadership fostered an unparalleled environment of dedication and
commitment among the Memorial Art Gallery's community of board members,
staff, and volunteers; and
WHEREAS, Grant Holcomb received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Ameri-
can History from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his
master's and doctoral degrees in Art History from the University of
Delaware; he taught at Mount Holyoke College from 1972 to 1979 before
returning to California to begin his museum career at the San Diego
Museum of Art where he served as curator and later Assistant Director;
and
WHEREAS, Well-known and widely respected in his field, Grant Holcomb
has written a number of articles, essays and exhibition catalogs on 19th
and 20th century American Art, and in 2009 curated the exhibition,
LINCOLN IN ROCHESTER, at the Memorial Art Gallery; he was a Kress Fellow
at the National Gallery of Art, and has been the recipient of fellow-
ships and grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the
National Endowment for the Arts, Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum
and the New York State Council on the Arts; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our atten-
tion, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of
the great State of New York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Grant Holcomb upon the occasion of his retirement as the Mary W.
and Donald R. Clark Director of the Memorial Art Gallery of the Univer-
sity of Rochester after 28 years of distinguished leadership and
service; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Grant Holcomb.