{"id":2036,"date":"2020-06-02T15:08:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T15:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/2020-celebration\/?p=2036"},"modified":"2025-08-04T12:32:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T16:32:01","slug":"emily-sibley-watson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/emily-sibley-watson\/","title":{"rendered":"Emily Sibley Watson (1855\u20131945)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Founder of the University of Rochester\u2019s Memorial Art Gallery. Philanthropist and patron of the arts in Rochester.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Portrait
Illustrated by Michael Osadciw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Emily Sibley Watson left a significant mark on the city and the University of Rochester, with numerous works of generosity and philanthropic tributes to those she appreciated, loved, and lost.<\/p>\n

While she enjoyed every luxury and advantage in life\u2014stately homes, extensive travel, and great riches\u2014she also endured more than her share of heartache and tragedy, including the death of her beloved son James G. Averell. In both exalted and tragic circumstances, Watson was driven to make a difference.<\/p>\n

Watson was born into a prominent family of extraordinary wealth and privilege. She was the youngest daughter of Hiram Sibley, a pioneer in telegraphy and founder of Western Union.<\/p>\n

Watson inherited her father\u2019s love of the arts and his passion for collecting. As she traveled the world, experiencing distant cultures and taking in the wonders of antiquity, Watson collected paintings, sculptures, and artifacts of great beauty and significance, including master works by Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso.<\/p>\n

It might have been easy to take such things for granted, but Watson\u2019s mother, Elizabeth Tinker Sibley, instilled in her daughter a sense of social responsibility and compassion. Watson joined in her mother\u2019s charitable work from a young age, helping to establish and support Genesee Hospital and Saint Andrew\u2019s Church.<\/p>\n

Throughout her life, Watson carried on her mother\u2019s philanthropic work for medical, cultural, and educational institutions as well as individuals. She took a particular interest in artists and musicians, including David Hochstein and the Hochstein School of Music & Dance.<\/p>\n

When forged with profound sorrow, however, Watson\u2019s generosity of spirit and artistic sensibility came together to create the magnificent Memorial Art Gallery (MAG), which was Watson\u2019s crowning achievement. Watson conceived, built, and founded this gallery to serve as an enduring memorial to her firstborn son, architect James George \u201cJ.G.\u201d Averell, who died of typhoid fever at the age of 26.<\/p>\n

Inspired by one of Averell\u2019s sketches from a recent trip to the Malatesta Temple in Rimini, Italy, Watson\u2019s nephew designed the original building to resemble \u201ca renaissance jewel box,\u201d with a tribute to Averell carved into the ornamentation.<\/p>\n

“An ornamental border of carved stone runs along the building\u2019s recessed arches. It bears both wreaths of roses and lamps, intertwined with the initials of J.G.A. Those roses and lamps are symbolic of memory, while the initials are those of the young man the Gallery was built to honor.”<\/p>\n

\u2014Donovan A. Shilling, They Put Rochester on the Map<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This stunning, architectural memorial now holds the artistic and cultural jewels Watson collected over her lifetime. She donated the gallery to the University of Rochester in 1912, with the understanding that it shall remain \u201ca means alike of pleasure and of education for all the citizens of Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Memorial Art Gallery has thus stayed open to the public, with educational programs for local children and University students alike, along with lectures, concerts, tours, and community activities. Widely regarded as one of the finest museums in New York, MAG has more than 13,000 pieces in its collection, including those in the Centennial Sculpture Park.<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s most treasured piece remains a bas-relief of James G. Averell, commissioned for the opening in 1913. Upon this likeness of her son, a quote from Watson reads, \u201cHe loved life, beauty and honor. His mother dedicates this building to his memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Awards and Honors<\/h5>\n
    \n
  • Memorial Art Gallery \u2013 2nd floor gallery named in her honor<\/li>\n
  • Rochester Music Hall of Fame Charter Inductee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Founder of the University of Rochester\u2019s Memorial Art Gallery. Philanthropist and patron of the arts in Rochester. Emily Sibley Watson left a significant mark on the city and the University…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":5556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41682],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebration-2020"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEmily Sibley Watson (1855\u20131945) - News Center - University of Rochester<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Biography of Emily Sibley Watson, founder of the University of Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery, philanthropist, and patron of the arts in Rochester.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/emily-sibley-watson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Emily Sibley Watson (1855\u20131945) - 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