# Jere Abbott

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**Jere Abbott** (October 5, 1897– July 9, 1982) was an American [art historian](/source/Art_historian) and [museum director](/source/Museum_director). Abbott was the founding associate director of the [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) from 1929 to 1932, and director of the [Smith College Museum of Art](/source/Smith_College_Museum_of_Art) from 1932 to 1946.[1]

## Career

Born in [Dexter](/source/Dexter,_Maine) to Arthur Preston Abbott and Flora Shaw Parkman, Abbott graduated from [Dexter Regional High School](/source/Dexter_Regional_High_School). He then received his [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) from [Bowdoin College](/source/Bowdoin_College), and went on to [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) with the intention of studying [physics](/source/Physics). There, Abbott met the [art historian](/source/Art_historian) [Alfred H. Barr Jr.](/source/Alfred_H._Barr_Jr.), who sparked an interest in the field. Abbott then pursued studies in [France](/source/France) and [Russia](/source/Russia), and upon returning to his native country, transferred to [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) to receive a degree in [Art History](/source/Art_History).[2]

In 1929, Abbott helped to establish the Department of Fine Arts at [Wesleyan University](/source/Wesleyan_University), and began working at the founding associate director of the [Museum of Modern Art](/source/Museum_of_Modern_Art) under its director, Barr.[3] Abbott would hold the latter post until 1932. In that year, he was named director of the [Smith College Museum of Art](/source/Smith_College_Museum_of_Art), where he also taught courses in [modern art](/source/Modern_art). Abbott became instrumental in shifting the museum focus toward the collecting of modern works such as *Table, Guitar, and Bottle* by [Pablo Picasso](/source/Pablo_Picasso) (1919).

In 1946, Abbott retired from Smith to return to the family business as treasurer of Amos Abbott Woolen Manufacturing Company, based in his hometown of Dexter. For a span of thirty-five years, he would also serve as a trustee of the local [Abbott Memorial Library](/source/Abbott_Memorial_Library).

In 1970, Abbott was awarded an honorary [Doctor of Fine Arts](/source/Doctor_of_Fine_Arts) degree from [Colby College](/source/Colby_College). Upon his death in 1982, he left the college a $4.3-million acquisition fund to the [Colby College Museum of Art](/source/Colby_College_Museum_of_Art). In 2002, those funds helped the school purchase the *Seven Walls* sculpture made by [Sol LeWitt](/source/Sol_LeWitt). The personal papers of Abbott are now held in the archives of both Bowdoin and Smith College, respectively.

## See also

- [List of Bowdoin College people](/source/List_of_Bowdoin_College_people)

## References

1. ["Jere Abbott, 84, Dies; Art Museum Director"](https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/22/obituaries/jere-abbott-84-dies-art-museum-director.html). *The New York Times*. 1982-07-22. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2020-08-21.

1. ["Collection: Jere Abbott papers | Smith College Finding Aids"](https://findingaids.smith.edu/repositories/4/resources/300). *findingaids.smith.edu*. Retrieved 2020-08-21.

1. ["Guide to the Jere Abbott Papers, 1879-1934"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200923191358/https://library.bowdoin.edu/arch/mss/japg.shtml). *library.bowdoin.edu*. Archived from [the original](https://library.bowdoin.edu/arch/mss/japg.shtml) on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2020-08-21.

## External links

- [Dictionary of Art Historians profile](https://arthistorians.info/abbottj)
- [Find a Grave profile](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54991522/jere-abbott)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jere Abbott](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jere_Abbott) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jere_Abbott?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.