Alabama NewsCenter — How Auburn University’s modern art collection helped found a museum

By: Charlotte Hendrix

A Georgia O’Keeffe for 50 bucks? The unbelievable saga of how Auburn University purchased 36 controversial masterpieces and opened the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, now celebrating its 20th anniversary.

In the Auburn Veterans Affairs Office at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, war surplus agent Dorsey Barron sipped his second cup of coffee and stared at his afternoon stack of bid forms. Just where on Earth are we supposed to put ’em all?

By June 1948, Auburn University had found itself in a GI Bill-fueled enrollment boom. More than 8,000 students. New faculty and staff arriving every year. And Barron had to find a place to put them all.

The Alabama Weather Blog gladly brings you an excerpt of this article through a partnership with the Alabama NewsCenter. You can see the complete post featuring all the associated images, videos, and links by clicking HERE.

Category: ALL POSTS, Partner News Stories