Eileen Markson

Eileen Markson passed away peacefully at home with family by her side on February 1, 2024, in Portland, Oregon.

Eileen was born on March 13th, 1939 in New York City, in the Bronx, to Sam and Alix Markson, where she lived for the first 3 years of her life until her family moved to Portland, Oregon in 1942 to take advantage of opportunities with Kaiser's ship building efforts. She graduated from Grant High School and then attended Lewis and Clark college in Portland, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1960. She returned to New York City where she earned a MA in French language and literature from NYU and a Masters of Library Science from Queens College in preparation for a library career combining her enthusiasm for art and archaeology. Eileen worked for several years for the Archaeological Institute of America in New York and continued to foster her lifelong love of art, music and dance, with frequent attendance at performances of the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She eventually applied for the Head of the Art and Archaeology and Cities Program Library at Bryn Mawr College, because it was only a train ride from NYC and, after all, Philadelphia had a good orchestra and ballet company.

Eileen headed the Art and Archaeology Library at Bryn Mawr for 31 years, from 1973 until her

retirement in 2004. Among her many achievements at Bryn Mawr was her involvement in the

design of the new Rhys Carpenter Library for Art History, Archaeology and the Cities Program, which opened in Fall 1997. It continues as one of the nation's finest repositories for advanced scholarship in those fields. In 2004, Eileen was recipient of the highest staff Mary McPherson Award for service to the College community and her profession, beyond her job description. Eileen was an active member of the Art Libraries Society of North America, and one of the founding members of the Delaware Valley Chapter. She served as the Eastern Regional Representative for the Society from 1985-1987, and she was elected the Vice-President/President of the Delaware Valley Chapter in 1993-1994.

After her retirement from Bryn Mawr, Eileen returned to Portland. She remained very engaged with the Art Libraries Society of North America, including serving as the copy editor of the Society's chief publication, Art Documentation, for many years post retirement. Eileen also served on the Board of the Terwilliger Plaza Retirement Community, and put her editing skills to good use for the Terwilliger Times. Eileen continued in her retirement to be a great patron of the arts. She volunteered for the Friends of Chamber Music in Portland, and made frequent trips to NYC to see her beloved New York City Ballet and to San Francisco to visit her family and take in performances of the San Francisco Ballet.

Eileen is survived by her sister, Karen Fine; her nephew, Ian Britton, his wife, Caitlin, and their daughter, Sadie. As per Eileen's request, no funeral or memorial service will be held.