Academic administrator, professional fundraiser, arts advocate, art historian
Ella King Torrey (1957–2003), was an American academic administrator, professional fundraiser, arts advocate, and art historian.[1][2] She was president of San Francisco Art Institute from 1995 to 2002;[3][4] and was known for creating opportunities for visual artists.
She graduated in art history in 1980, from Yale University.[2] Her thesis was on the cultural effects of Barbie dolls.[1][2][5] Torrey continued her studies at the University of Mississippi (UM), where deepened her learning on contemporary folk art, and Black quilt making traditions.[2] While attending UM, Torrey worked with the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, and curated a traveling exhibition on folk art toys.[6] Her master's thesis was on folk art painter, Theora Hamblett.[2]
Career
After graduating in 1985, Torrey became a program officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia, an NGO working on the creation of artists' subsidized housing, and fundraising for local music organizations.[2][7] During her time at Pew, she founded and led the Pew Artists Fellowship Program.[2]
In 1995, Torrey was elected president of the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), where she worked to amend some of the structural problems related to the organizational finances.[2] During her time at SFAI, she tripled the schools endowment, added a few new trustees, and generally improved the school's reputation.[2][3] Torrey resigned in 2002, as SFAI faced financial problems, and after an auditing firm found irregularities in 2001.[2][3]
She died on April 30, 2003, at the age of 45, in her home in the Potrero Hill neighborhood in San Francisco.[3][4] The cause of death was not disclosed,[2] however some news reports attributed to suicide.[4][8][9] Her memorial service was held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, with a second service was held at the Santa Monica Museum of Art (now Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles).[4]
^Mather, Frank Jewett; Sherman, Frederic Fairchild (2006). "Torrey". Art in America. Vol. 94. Art in America, Inc. p. 60 – via Google Books. ...the 2003 suicide of president Ella King Torrey...
