Dunlavy, Doris E. (c. 1914-1987)

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: c. 1914 - 1987

Biography

Doris Dunlavy attended The Ohio State University graduate program, transferred to Cleveland Institute of Art, and received her master’s degree from Western Reserve University. She joined the CMA in 1946 as the assistant in the Extension Exhibitions Department. After Ruth Field Ruggles retired in 1947, Dunlavy became Administrator in charge of the department. Dunlavy would deal with an ever-increasing demand for exhibits around the Cleveland area. The increase in materials was helped significantly by the Harold T. Clark Educational Extensions Fund.

In January 1960 the Extensions Exhibitions Department separated from the Education Department, becoming an independent unit. The new department opened three galleries throughout the city. The first opened on the east side of Cleveland at Karamu House in 1959. The second extension gallery opened in the summer of 1960 in the Cleveland Public Library and was called The Library Art Gallery. The Lakewood Civic Art Gallery opened in 1961 on the west side in Lakewood High School. These Galleries housed exhibits on a three-month rotating schedule and were a great way for the department to show its larger collections to the public.

Extensions went through many changes in the 1970s. Doris Dunlavy retired in 1974 after twenty-eight years of service. Dunlavy had expanded extensions far beyond the original expectations of museum founders. In the spirit of broadening public education, the extensions department became part of the Department of Art History and Education with Dunlavy's departure. In 1976, an article in the Lamberton, North Carolina Robesonian described her work with the North Carolina Museum of Art as coordinator of a statewide network of affiliate galleries to bring works together for exhibitions throughout the state.

-Biography by Anne Cuyler Salsich, 2024

Occupations

Cleveland Museum of Art Staff Member

Places

Ohio--Ashtabula (Place of Birth)
Virginia--Salem (Place of Death)

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Cleveland Museum of Art Extensions Department records

Collection

Identifier: 1111.095

Scope and Contents note The Records of the Extensions Department detail activities of the department from 1916 until its closing in 1992. Some of the records include information up to 1996 but the bulk of the information is from the years 1950-1992. Included are administrative files including reports and procedures; exhibit information including case lists and set up diagrams; photographs of exhibits including artwork, locations, and people; correspondence between the staff ; artists and locations; and files on the...

Dates: Majority of material found within Bulk, 1950-1992; 1916-1992

Found in: Cleveland Museum of Art Archives / Cleveland Museum of Art Extensions Department records

Extension Exhibitions - Doris Dunlavy, 1959-1972

File — Box: 86, Folder: 1

Scope and Contents note From the Sub-Series: This subseries contains memoranda, correspondence, and notes between the director and museum departments. The records are organized alphabetically by the department's name at the time the records were created. Departmental name changes can be followed by referring to the appendix. Within each folder the records are organized chronologically. Departmental names do not represent organizational hierarchy, but rather reflect their relative importance to Sherman Lee. He was primarily interested...

Dates: 1959-1972

Found in: Cleveland Museum of Art Archives / 1111.002, Records of the Director's Office: Sherman E. Lee, 1958-1983 / Administrative Records / Departmental Files