George Hewitt Myers
Encyclopedia
George Hewitt Myers was an American
forester and philanthropist.
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio
and graduated from Yale College in 1898. He pursued graduate work in English at Harvard
from 1898 to 1899. He graduated in the first class of Yale Forest School with a degree of Master of Forestry in 1902. He began acquiring land in Union, Connecticut
about 1909. In 1917 the Yale School of Forestry began using the Myers property for field instruction. Around 1929 Myers arranged to donate his forest land to Yale University
. The Yale School of Forestry summer camp buildings were constructed on the former Morse farm on the property in 1933; the ownership of the forest was transferred to Yale in 1934. The Yale Myers Forest is managed by the Yale School of Forestry as a multiple-use working forest.
Myers began collecting textiles in 1896 with a rug he bought for his room at Yale University. He donated his collection to found The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C in 1925, which is housed in the George Hewitt Myers House (2310 S Street), designed by John Russell Pope
, which was built in 1912, and in the Martha S. Tucker House (2320 S Street), built in 1908 (Wood, Donn & Deming, architects).
Myers died in 1957, followed shortly in death by his three children: daughter Persis Chase in 1958, daughter Mary Hewitt in 1959, and daughter Louise Chase in 1960. His wife, Louise Stoddard Chase, assumed Myers' duties on the board of trustees at The Textile Museum from the time of his death through 1958.
When George Hewitt Myers (1875-1957) first purchased a few rugs in the 1890s – a group of late 19th-century Turkish and Caucasian village rugs – he did not anticipate buying several thousand textiles. As the years passed and his finances allowed, however, his interests grew to include other types of non-Western textiles along with examples from earlier periods. He began collecting classical silk textiles and carpets from the court workshops of Safavid Iran, Ottoman Turkey and Mughal India; early Islamic textiles, including inscribed textiles called tiraz from western Asia, Egypt and Yemen; late antique textiles from Egypt; Indian resist-dyed cotton fabrics found in Fustat, Egypt; and archaeological textiles from Peru; as well as colonial and later pieces from South and Central America.
In the early 1920s, Myers’ focus shifted to the meaning of these objects, and he set out to widen the scope of knowledge about textiles. He established The Textile Museum in 1925, and by the late 1930s, the breadth and depth of Myers’ textile collection rendered it internationally significant.
When Myers died in 1957, The Textile Museum’s collections included 3,100 textiles from Asia and Africa and 1,500 textiles from the Americas. Today the Museum’s collections include more than 18,000 textiles from around the world.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forester and philanthropist.
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and graduated from Yale College in 1898. He pursued graduate work in English at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
from 1898 to 1899. He graduated in the first class of Yale Forest School with a degree of Master of Forestry in 1902. He began acquiring land in Union, Connecticut
Union, Connecticut
Union is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 854 at the 2010 census, making it the least populous town in Connecticut and the second-least populous municipality in Connecticut; only the Borough of Fenwick has fewer people...
about 1909. In 1917 the Yale School of Forestry began using the Myers property for field instruction. Around 1929 Myers arranged to donate his forest land to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. The Yale School of Forestry summer camp buildings were constructed on the former Morse farm on the property in 1933; the ownership of the forest was transferred to Yale in 1934. The Yale Myers Forest is managed by the Yale School of Forestry as a multiple-use working forest.
Myers began collecting textiles in 1896 with a rug he bought for his room at Yale University. He donated his collection to found The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C in 1925, which is housed in the George Hewitt Myers House (2310 S Street), designed by John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope was an architect most known for his designs of the National Archives and Records Administration building , the Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.-Biography:Pope was born in New York in 1874, the son of a successful...
, which was built in 1912, and in the Martha S. Tucker House (2320 S Street), built in 1908 (Wood, Donn & Deming, architects).
Myers died in 1957, followed shortly in death by his three children: daughter Persis Chase in 1958, daughter Mary Hewitt in 1959, and daughter Louise Chase in 1960. His wife, Louise Stoddard Chase, assumed Myers' duties on the board of trustees at The Textile Museum from the time of his death through 1958.
When George Hewitt Myers (1875-1957) first purchased a few rugs in the 1890s – a group of late 19th-century Turkish and Caucasian village rugs – he did not anticipate buying several thousand textiles. As the years passed and his finances allowed, however, his interests grew to include other types of non-Western textiles along with examples from earlier periods. He began collecting classical silk textiles and carpets from the court workshops of Safavid Iran, Ottoman Turkey and Mughal India; early Islamic textiles, including inscribed textiles called tiraz from western Asia, Egypt and Yemen; late antique textiles from Egypt; Indian resist-dyed cotton fabrics found in Fustat, Egypt; and archaeological textiles from Peru; as well as colonial and later pieces from South and Central America.
In the early 1920s, Myers’ focus shifted to the meaning of these objects, and he set out to widen the scope of knowledge about textiles. He established The Textile Museum in 1925, and by the late 1930s, the breadth and depth of Myers’ textile collection rendered it internationally significant.
When Myers died in 1957, The Textile Museum’s collections included 3,100 textiles from Asia and Africa and 1,500 textiles from the Americas. Today the Museum’s collections include more than 18,000 textiles from around the world.
External links
- http://www.textilemuseum.org/
- History of the Myers Pond Forest, Union, Connecticut