The growth and the development of the University of Vermont has been determined in part by men and women-- patrons, presidents, distinguished trustees and faculty-- who in various ways have shaped the institution through creative leadership and vision, financial support, or major gifts to UVM. A history of UVM can thus be reconstructed by looking at portraits of those individuals whose collective contributions also help us to better understand the University in the 21st century. The media vary: prints, photographs, paintings, and sculpture (free-standing, bas-relief and portrait busts). Some works are placed in public spaces; others are housed in various places throughout the University: The Robert Hull Fleming Museum; in named buildings (e.g., Morrill Hall); in commemorative spaces such as John Dewey Lounge (Old Mill) or the Grace Coolidge Dining Room (Waterman). Other significant works of art that also tell the story of the University encompass the full range of decorative arts such as furniture, china, and wall clocks.



Ira Allen. Oil on ivory (miniature), Edward Greene Malbone (attribution) c.1797, Robert Hull Fleming Museum. Founder of the University in 1791 ( Legislative Charter) having pledged a considerable sum of his personal wealth in 1789...



George Perkins Marsh. Marble portrait bust, Franklin Simmons. c. 1879 Robert Hull Fleming Museum. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Class of 1820, Marsh was a man of many talents: lawyer, congressman, diplomat and conservationist....



Frederick Billings. Oil on canvas, Thomas Waterman Wood, 1884. Billings Library (Billlings Student Center). A benefactor and patron from Woodstock, Vermont and UVM alumnus, class of 1844, Billings was a statesman, lawyer and President of ....



Justin Morrill. Marble portrait bust, Preston Powers, c. 1896, Gift of the Land Grant Colleges Association, placed in Morrill Hall. Morrill Hall [1907] is named in his honor and was the first of many UVM buildings to be funded by the State of ...



Henry LeGrand Cannon. Oil on canvas, Eastman Johnson, c.1891. Collection, The Robert Hull Fleming Museum. A Burlington native whose family owned Lake Champlain Transportation, Cannon presented his ethnographic collections...



John Dewey, Oil painting, 1929, by Edwin B. Child, Dewey Memorial Lounge, Old Mill. A Burlington native, he earned his B.A. (Class of 1879) and was awarded an L.L.D. in 1910. Dewey was one of the most significant...