Thomas Haskell Garver

Thomas Haskell Garver

Jan. 23, 1934 - June 9, 2023

MADISON - Thomas Haskell Garver, of Madison, WI, age 89, died on June 9, 2023, in Madison, WI.

He is survived by a brother, John T. Garver, of Central Point, OR.

"Tom Garver was born in Duluth, MN, on January 23, 1934. He attended high school at the North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, IL, received his BA from Haverford College, Haverford, PA, an MA in history of art from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; and worked as a curator and director of several American art museums for almost 30 years.

He served as an assistant director of the Fine Arts Exhibitions of the Seattle World's Fair in 1962, and subsequently became assistant director of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. In 1968, Tom became the founding director of the Newport Harbor Art Museum (now Orange County Museum of Art) in California, a museum he was to run twice, with a five-year period between as curator of exhibitions at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,

In 1980, Tom moved to Madison to assume the directorship of the Madison Art Center (now Madison Museum of Contemporary Art). He left that position in 1987, subsequently pursuing many contemporary art related projects which included organizing art exhibitions for several American art museums as well as building (with Natasha Nicholson) the art collection of the former Rayovac Corporation, a company for which he also worked as consulting archivist.

From 1994 to 2001, Tom served as business agent to the late American photographer, O. Winston Link, who was best known for his photographs of the last years of American steam railroading. Following Link's death, Tom became the organizing curator of the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke, VA, which opened in 2004. Tom worked as an assistant to Winston Link in New York City in the mid-1950s and wrote and lectured on Link's work throughout the United States for many years.

Tom Garver was the author of two books, a monograph on the paintings of the late George Tooker, and the other on the railroad photos of Winston Link. He wrote introductions for several other books on American art and photography in addition to more than 50 catalogue essays for exhibitions of American art and photography. He also wrote articles on art, historical technology and numismatic (commemorative) medals which were published in several national magazines.

At Tom's request, there will be no funeral or memorial service, but a friend will travel to San Francisco with a thimbleful of his ashes which will be sent into the air from the center span of the Golden Gate Bridge, a structure Tom regarded as being one the few creations of humankind which truly complement and enhance its natural environment."

The above was written by Tom in August of 2020. Those who love him wish to add, at this time of his passing:

Tom was wicked funny, in an offhand and deadpan way that cracked people up. He was intensely protective, loyal, and generous to his loved ones. He was always thinking creatively about ways he could benefit the lives of others, especially young people, and right up to the end was devoted to projects in that vein, including organizing an ongoing video biography course in a local alternative high school, and had a pending proposal to create an arts incubator in another local school. He also volunteered at Second Harvest food bank and Agrace Hospice.

He was a fixture and active participant in his church, First Unitarian Society of Madison - as much for its Frank Lloyd Wright history and aesthetic as for its commitment to social justice.

He was a board member of Wright in Wisconsin, the sponsor of the annual FLLW "Wright and Like" tour. He served on the City of Madison's Alcohol License Review Committee and would sometimes ride with police officers at bar time to see how things were at closing time.

His travels, consultancies, friends, and acquaintances in the art world and beyond gave him international and enduring friendships, and LOTS of great stories.

He was intensely interested in analog machinery, inspired by Winston Link but spreading to fascination with antique cameras, clocks, and surveying equipment. He belonged to organizations devoted to these interests and published in their journals.

He loved Bach pipe organ music (another analog machine) as well as French organ literature. He was a member of the Organ Historical Society. He loved orchids and tended dozens. He loved saucer magnolias and spent hours in the Arboretum in May watching them bud, bloom, and fade.

A bright light has gone out in the world. Tom will be profoundly missed as he was greatly loved.