I write this letter shortly after returning from Munich, Germany, with the museum’s celebrated 1625 painting by Hendrick ter Brugghen, Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene. This work was, quite literally, the “poster child” for an important exhibition co-organized by the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Our Saint Sebastian appeared on the catalogue cover, on banners flown outside both institutions, and even on the digital billboards at Amsterdam’s busy airport.

While the AMAM’s primary mission is to use our irreplaceable collection in teaching at Oberlin College and for public enjoyment and education, it is always wonderful to be recognized positively by museumgoers and scholars from farther afield. This is a particularly proud moment for us, as seminal works representing three major collecting areas (European and American art to 1900, Asian art, and modern and contemporary art from 1900 to the present) feature prominently in international exhibitions. In addition to the Ter Brugghen’s presence in Utrecht and Munich, 200 of the Allen’s acclaimed ukiyo-e prints donated by alumna Mary Ainsworth (oc 1889) are touring three venues in Japan, and 140 drawings by Eva Hesse, donated by the artist’s sister, are seen in exhibitions in Wiesbaden, New York, and Vienna (and, next year, Oberlin).

We take very seriously our mission to safeguard important artworks for future generations and to share them with a broad public, and we thank you—the museum’s generous supporters—for all that you do to help us in these efforts. I am particularly gratified to report that in December 2018 we met our goal of raising a $500,000 match for our Second Century Campaign, which celebrates our centennial while laying the groundwork for a bright future by shoring up endowments. The museum’s Visiting Committee, an advisory group of 19 arts professionals and collectors, additionally raised a generous match during “All in for Oberlin,” the college’s 24-hour campaign held each April. To them, and to all our donors, we give sincere thanks for your recognition of our efforts to wisely use the collection, and our resources, in our community and throughout the world.

Two donors I particularly wish to recognize are Ted ’26/’27 and Odile Schempp. Ted was an esteemed art dealer—one of many prominent Oberlin alumni in that field—known for his work with artists active in France, including Georges Braque, Nicolas de Staël, and Pablo Picasso. Ted died in 1988, and when his wife, Odile, passed away in 2017, she honored his wishes by leaving important works to the Allen, including the first by de Staël to enter our collection. I had the privilege of knowing Odile over the past decade and will miss her joie de vivre, her reminiscences of life in Paris and the south of France, and her love both for Ted and for all that Oberlin and the Allen meant to him. I also wish to thank the many artists whose long history with the Allen inspired them to make gifts of their own works in honor of our centenary.

The teamwork of museum staff members makes everything we do possible, and I particularly want to thank Katie Solender ’77, who served as acting director when I was on a six-month research sabbatical, for all that she and museum staff members did to plan for an impressive semester of programs. Fall events delve into such varied subjects as the Atlantic slave trade, Japanese decorative and performing arts, and the work of Gustav Klimt, whose painting Pale Face is on loan this autumn from the Neue Galerie in New York. We also celebrate the legacy of beloved community member Audra Skuodas, who left us too soon earlier this year. Through these exhibitions and programs, our work attests to very strong collaborations between museum staff, Oberlin College students and faculty, and our community. We hope you will visit often, whether to see old friends amongst the artworks on view, or to discover new ones.

—Andria Derstine, John G.W. Cowles Director