Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen

Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen
A young white woman in profile; her hair is dressed back to the nape; she is wearing a white peter-pan collar
Bernice McIlhenny (later Wintersteen), from the 1925 yearbook of Smith College
Born
Bernice Marilla McIlhenny

June 16, 1903
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedApril 24, 1986
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Other namesBonnie Wintersteen
OccupationArts administrator
RelativesHenry Plumer McIlhenny (brother)

Bernice Marilla McIlhenny Wintersteen (June 16, 1903 – April 24, 1986) was an American arts patron and arts administrator. She was president of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from 1964 to 1968.

Early life and education

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Bernice "Bonnie" McIlhenny was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of John Dexter McIlhenny and Frances Galbraith Plumer McIlhenny. Her father was an executive in the utilities industry.[1] Her younger brother Henry Plumer McIhenny was a noted art collector, curator, and philanthropist.[2] She studied art with Arthur Beecher Carles,[3][4] and graduated from Smith College in 1925.[5] In 1981 she was awarded the Smith College Medal, as an outstanding alumna.[6][7]

Career

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Winslow Homer, "North Road, Bermuda"; one painting donated by Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Wintersteen was a member of the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from 1937 to 1964, chair of the Board of Governors from 1959 to 1964, and president of the museum from 1964 to 1968.[8] In 1969, the Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen Student Center opened at the museum.[9] She sold much of her art collections in the 1970s,[10] but donated some paintings to the museum, and to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,[3] including paintings, pastels, and statues from Picasso, Matisse, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, O'Keeffe, Nevelson, Rothko, and Bronzino.[2]

Wintersteen was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 1964.[11] She received the Gimbel Philadelphia Award in 1967.[12] She chaired the Philadelphia Art Festival in 1967, and was president of the Friends of the Wissahickon from 1953 to 1956. She served on the advisory council of the Princeton University Museum of Art, chaired the visitors' committee of the Smith College Art Museum. She was also "the first woman elected an honorary fellow of the Philadelphia College of Physicians."[11] She was a trustee of Drexel University, and served on the Bicentennial Committee of the city of Philadelphia.[13] Illustrator Jessie Willcox Smith painted a portrait of Bonnie McIlhenny as a girl;[14] Andy Warhol photographed her in her seventies.[15]

Personal life

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Bernice McIlhenny married lawyer John S. Wintersteen in 1929.[16] They had four sons.[17] Her husband died in 1952,[18][19] and she died in 1986, at the age of 82, in Philadelphia.[11] Her papers are in the archives of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Death of John D. McIlhenny". Gas Industry. 25: 428. December 1925.
  2. ^ a b Richard, Paul. "$100 Million Art Bequest" The Washington Post (May 21, 1986).
  3. ^ a b Sozanski, Edward J. (1986-05-27). "Two Museums Benefit from Wintersteen Bequests". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 30. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tributes to Arthur Carles". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1952-06-29. p. 80. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Smith College (1925). Class of 1925. College Archives Smith College Libraries. Smith College. p. 72 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "The Smith College Medal". Smith College. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  7. ^ "Alumnae Group at Smith in 100th Year". Daily Hampshire Gazette. 1981-05-19. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Currents: A Collector Collects" Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine (Winter 1988).
  9. ^ Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Impact Africa: African art and the West: the inaugural exhibition of the Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen Student Center January 24 - June 30, 1969". RAI Fagg Catalogue. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  10. ^ "Art Treasures Go Back 'Home'". The Ottawa Citizen. 1973-10-19. p. 46. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c "Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen, a leader in cultural, artistic affairs". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1986-04-25. p. 60. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Larkin, Mary; McAdams, Leonard J. (1967-01-13). "Mrs. Wintersteen Gets Gimbel Award for Dedication to City". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 23. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Wilson College to Honor Noted Pianist, Art Patron". Public Opinion. 1968-05-27. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Jessie Willcox Smith, "Bonnie as a Young Girl" (ca. 1910)". PAFA - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  15. ^ Warhol, Andy (2016-02-29). "Bonnie Wintersteen". International Center of Photography. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  16. ^ "Bernice M'Ilhenny Has Church Bridal" The New York Times (December 1, 1929): .
  17. ^ Seltzer, Ruth (1983-06-17). "80th Birthday Bash Toasts a Great Lady of City's Art Scene". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 29. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "John Wintersteen Found Shot Dead". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1952-10-31. p. 44. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Princeton Gets Grant". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1952-11-08. p. 28. Retrieved 2022-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Collection: Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen Records". Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
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