Helen Harrison Joins Larry Rivers Foundation Board
Already well regarded for her role as director of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in East Hampton, Helen Harrison has recently joined the board of the Larry Rivers Foundation.
In an announcement sent last week, Larry Rivers Foundation executive director David Joel lauded Harrison for bringing “that rare combination of exceptional insight, intelligence and experience mixed with a sharp sense of humor, confidence and conviction.” And, Joel noted, “…she does it all without any of the pretense or bravado that one might expect when interacting with such a great mind.”
Along with her experience at the Pollock-Krasner House, Harrison joins the Rivers Foundation board with a deep knowledge of the artist and estate they represent. Her Harper & Row published book Larry Rivers is a comprehensive works about Rivers that takes a serious look at the complex influence of his public persona combined with that of his art. “By incorporating the voice of his critics she offers us an opportunity to learn how their response to Rivers’ art and personality formulate some of the generalized views, opinions and judgments that in many ways have tainted the necessary in-depth consideration of Rivers’ legacy,” Joel said of her book.
“Helen is a natural born educator. I certainly have learned (and happily continue to learn) a great deal from her and I know that our board is very enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with Helen,” Joel continued before sharing Harrison’s official bio, which is reproduced below.
Helen A. Harrison, the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Director of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in East Hampton, New York, holds a bachelor’s degree in art from Adelphi University and a master’s degree in art history from Case Western Reserve University. She began her career in museum administration as the curator of the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, and has also been the curator of Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton and a guest curator at the Queens Museum. She is a former art reviewer and feature writer for the Long Island section of The New York Times, and visual arts commentator for the NPR affiliate WLIU 88.3 FM. Her publications include Larry Rivers, published by Harper & Row in 1984; Hamptons Bohemia: Two Centuries of Artists and Writers on the Beach, co-authored with Constance Ayers Denne; and The Jackson Pollock Box, an art kit for young people. Her monograph on Jackson Pollock will be published by Phaidon in September 2014. A detailed curriculum vitae is available on her Web site, helenharrison.net.
David Joel and the Larry Rivers Foundation have promised to share more news and upcoming projects soon.