Society of Fellows Membership Records

By the mid-1960s, almost all of the income from the William Rockhill Nelson Trust was being used for Museum operating expenses and little was left for acquisitions of art. Partly to compensate for the rising expenses and to preserve Trust funds for purchases, the Trustees authorized the establishment of the Society of Fellows of the Nelson Gallery Foundation. Begun on November 16, 1965, his new organization was modeled on the patron group of the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City. Herman Sutherland became the Fellows first chairman and Colonel C.M. Peeke the first executive secretary. Money collected from membership dues and fundraisers offered the Museum unrestricted income. These funds were to be used for special loan exhibitions, and educational programs and projects as well as for operating expenses. In return the members of the Fellows were given the chance to participate in activities that would increase their identification with the aspirations of the Museum such as dinners, special viewing of exhibits, collections, or recent acquisitions, and art-related travel opportunities.