Object number1987.53.138
Skinner Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Datec. 1958
Artist
Rosalie Thorne McKenna
(American, 1918-2003)
CultureAmerican
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 10 3/16 x 13 3/16 in. (25.9 x 33.5 cm)
Mount: 14 1/4 x 17 1/4 in. (36.2 x 43.8 cm)
Matted: 16 x 22 in. (40.6 x 55.9 cm)
Mount: 14 1/4 x 17 1/4 in. (36.2 x 43.8 cm)
Matted: 16 x 22 in. (40.6 x 55.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist
On View
Not on viewPeriod20th c
Classification(s)
InscribedOn verso, possibly by artist, center in pencil: Skinner; lower center in ink: Skinner Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY / c. 1958; by unidentified hand, lower right corner in pencil: 87.53.138
MarkingsOn verso, stamped upper left corner: PROOF / ONLY; partially visible stamp: Please C[...]; stamped upper center [scribbled out]: PHOTO BY: / ROLLIE MCKENNA / 438 EAST 88 STREET / NEW YORK 28, N. Y. / TEL. ENRIGHT 9-3889 / Not To Be Reproduced / Without Permission. / Please Credit With Photo; stamped lower center [upside down]: Photo By: / ROLLIE MCKENNA / ONE HANCOX STREET / STONINGTON, CONN. / AREA CODE 203 533-0110/2126 / Not To Be Reproduced / Without Permission / Please Credit With Photo
ProvenanceGift of the artistVassar Exhibitions
Label TextMentored at Vassar by art and architectural historians Agnes Rindge Claflin and Richard Krautheimer, McKenna discovered photography first as a tool for studying architecture. She studied American history and art history and criticism while also working at a nearby greenhouse. In 1942, shortly after graduating, McKenna became a Navy officer as the U.S. entered World War II, enlisting in Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES). She became the first woman to attain the rank of sharpshooter in the U.S. Navy. McKenna returned to Vassar in 1948 to pursue a rare master’s degree in the history of art, with special dispensation secured by Claflin under the G.I. Bill. Her 1949 master’s thesis remains the most comprehensive study of Vassar’s historic Main Building, designed by James Renwick Jr. The campus would continue to be a home base for McKenna throughout her career. Over the years, she was commissioned by the College to photograph campus architecture, student life, classes, reunions, and other events.
DescriptionCollegiate Gothic building in lush setting with path leading viewer from foreground to building
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge.
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