The Legacy of Henry Fuller

By Doug MacPherson on Monday, February 4, 2002.

listen: No audio currently available. Order on CD (pdf).

A new exhibit of 19th century American paintings opened this weekend at The Currier Gallery of Art in Manchester. Theyï¿½re from the personal collection of Henry Melville Fuller, who died last summer at the age of 87. The paintings were part of Fullerï¿½s final gift to the museum. As NHPRï¿½s Doug MacPherson reports, Henry Fuller was no ordinary benefactor.

ON A WALL OF THE CURRIERï¿½S LATEST EXHIBIT HANGS ONE OF THE LAST PHOTOGRAPHS OF HENRY MELVILLE FULLER. THE PHOTO ISNï¿½T DISPLAYED AT THE ENTRANCE. RATHER, IT PEAKS OUT AT YOU FROM ONE OF THE WALLS INSIDE. FULLERï¿½S SMILING FACE GREETS YOU WARMLY. HE WAS A THIN MAN WITH A ROUND HEAD AND LARGE, WIDE-SPREAD EYES. HE APPEARS TO BE DELIGHTED THAT YOUï¿½VE COME TO SEE HIS PAINTINGS. YOU ALMOST FEEL AS IF YOUï¿½VE ACCIDENTALLY WANDERED INTO HIS HOME.

TAPE ANDREW SPAHR. 1029 these works were collected while mister fuller was living and working in new york. And at that time he lived in an apartmentï¿½ [UPCUT] :07

ANDREW SPAHR IS CURATOR OF THE CURRIER GALLERY.

TAPE SPAHR ï¿½ so many of the works you see here on view are somewhat modest in scale. And also tend to have a very intimate feel, both in the subject and in the way theyï¿½re executed. And in the instillation here weï¿½ve tried to give people a sense of how mister fuller grouped the paintings, to give people some idea of how he lived with them on a day to day basis. :20

FULLER COLLECTED WHAT HE LIKED, INCLUDING LANDSCAPES BY THE FOUNDER OF THE HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL, THOMAS COLE; GENRE SCENES OF EVERYDAY LIFE BY FRANCIS EDMUNDS; AND WELL-KNOWN NEW HAMPSHIRE PAINTERS SUCH AS BENJAMIN CHAMPNEY.
FULLER WAS KNOWN AS A CONNOISSEUR OF AMERICAN PAINTINGS. HE WAS BORN AND RAISED IN MANCHESTER, ATTENDED ST. PAULï¿½S SCHOOL AND HARVARD, BECAME A SUCCESSFUL NEW YORK STOCK BROKER, AND RETIRED TO MANCHESTER. A LIFE-LONG BACHELOR, FULLER HAD TWO OUTSTANDING PASSIONS: COLLECTING ART. AND THE CURRIER.

TAPE ZACHOS 522 when I came on the board in ï¿½67, it was quite clear almost immediately that this museum was the apple of Henryï¿½s eye. :11

KIMON ZACHOS SERVED WITH FULLER ON THE CURRIERï¿½S BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR MORE THAN THREE-DECADES, DURING WHICH TIME FULLER QUIETLY DONATED MILLIONS TO ADVANCE THE GALLERY.

TAPE ZACHOS 1002 Henry was a very modest person, and always wanted you to respect his anonymity, his modesty. This interview is being conducted in the Henry Melville Fuller Gallery at the museum. And yet I recall, we didnï¿½t just automatically name this gallery for him. We had to go to Henry, we had to convince him that it was essential that we do so. :27

WHEN FULLER UNDERSTOOD THE VALUE HIS GIFT WOULD HAVE IN PERSUADING OTHERS TO DONATE, HE ACQUIESCED. HE COULD HAVE HAD THE ENTIRE MUSEUM NAMED AFTER HIM IF HEï¿½D WANTED TO. BUT HE DIDNï¿½T WANT TO. IT WAS ALMOST AS IF HE VIEWED THE CURRIER AS HIS PRIVATE RESPONSIBILITY. MUSEUM DIRECTOR SUSAN STRICKLER RECALLS THAT ï¿½HENRYï¿½ -- AS EVERYONE ON THE STAFF CALLED HIM ï¿½ WOULD NEVER LET HER PAY FOR LUNCH.

TAPE STRICKLER I can remember once saying, ï¿½Henry, let me do it this time.ï¿½ I said, ï¿½Youï¿½ve taken me out to lunch so many times. And he said, ï¿½Well, I couldnï¿½t do that. After all, youï¿½re the charity that Iï¿½m supposed to take care of.ï¿½ :15

FEW PEOPLE GUESSED FULLER WAS WEALTHY. HE LIVED SIMPLY. HE DROVE A SUBURU. EVEN TRUSTEE KIMON ZACHOS, WHO BECAME FULLERï¿½S ATTORNEY, HAD NO IDEA THE SIZE OF HIS CLIENTï¿½S ESTATE. SINCE HE WAS THE NAMED EXECUTOR OF THAT ESTATE, ZACHOS FELT HE OUGHT TO KNOW.

TAPE ZACHOS And so I would ask him, ï¿½Well, Henry, give me an idea of what youï¿½re worth.ï¿½ And his response would be, after thinking awhile heï¿½d say, ï¿½Well what do you think Iï¿½m worth, Kim?ï¿½ :12

ZACHOS NEVER WANTED TO HURT HIS FRIENDï¿½S FEELINGS BY GUESSING TOO LOW OR TOO HIGH. ONLY WHEN FULLERï¿½S HEALTH DETERIORATED AND HE TURNED OVER ALL HIS MATTERS, DID ZACHOS DISCOVER THE EXTENT OF HIS CLIENTï¿½S WEALTH. FULLER WAS WORTH 90-MILLION DOLLARS. WHEN HE DIED IN AUGUST, HE LEFT ALMOST HALF THAT AMOUNT, ALONG WITH HIS ENTIRE ART COLLECTION, TO THE CURRIER. MUSEUM OFFICIALS SAY IT IS THE LARGEST GIFT A MUSEUM THE SIZE OF THE CURRIER HAS EVER RECEIVED. IT IS THE LARGEST GIFT TO A NON-PROFIT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORY.
AS SUSAN STRICKLER NOTES, HE GAVE IT CAREFULLY.

TAPE STRICKLER one of the really lovely things about Henry Fullerï¿½s bequest is that there were very simple but logical restrictions put on the gift. :09

ALL OF THE MONEY WENT TO ENDOWMENT, WITH HALF THE INTEREST TO BE SPENT ON NEW ACQUISITIONS ï¿½ HALF TO BE SPENT ON OPERATIONS. THE BEQUEST DOESNï¿½T SOLVE ALL THE MUSEUMSï¿½ PROBLEMS. AS STRICKLER POINTS OUT ï¿½ ITï¿½S POSSIBLE TO SPEND 43-MILLION DOLLARS ON A SINGLE WORK OF ART.
BUT THESE DAYS, STRICKLER IS CONSCIOUS THAT HENRY FULLERï¿½S GIFT INSURES THAT THE CURRIER WILL BE ABLE TO EXCEL IN PERPETUITY.

TAPE STRICKLER the other thing that I think we all feel here, is the fact that Henry is no longer here. And I can say that there are many many instances on a regular basis when a trustee or a staff member will say, ï¿½Gee, I wonder what Henry would say.ï¿½ Or, ï¿½I know exactly what Henry might have said.ï¿½ :20

THE COLLECTION OF HENRY MELVILLE FULLER WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT THE CURRIER GALLERY OF ART IN MANCHESTER THROUGH MARCH 11TH. FOR N-H-P-R NEWS, Iï¿½M DOUG MACPHERSON.