Hugh Gourley's 36-year tenure transformed Colby College Museum of Art into Maine's premier contemporary art institution

Hugh J. Gourley III, who directed the Colby College Museum of Art from 1966 until his retirement, died on July 29, 2012, in Portland, Maine. He was born in 1931 in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated with a degree in art history from Brown University. Gourley served in the US Army in Eritrea before pursuing graduate studies at Yale and taking a curatorial position at the Rhode Island School of Design. He was then appointed to oversee the Waterville museum, which he transformed over 36 years into a 28,000-square-foot space housing more than 7,000 artworks, including significant acquisitions like 25 John Marin pieces in 1973 and the Alex Katz wing in 1992. His influence extended to mentoring Colby students and acquiring works by prominent artists.