Dr. Anthony Bannon will give the eighth annual Murray L. Bob Memorial Lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Fireplace Room at James Prendergast Library.
His presentation is free and open to the public.
Bannon began his position as the new director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center in May 2012. For the preceding 16 years, Bannon guided the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, located in Rochester, to national and international acclaim.
During his tenure at Eastman House, Bannon led the creation of three postgraduate preservation schools, alliances with museums, universities, and collectors clubs in large U.S. cities, and many of the most well-attended exhibitions in the Rochester museum's 65-year history. He also oversaw the digitization of collections and aggressive social-media campaigns to share Eastman House's unparalleled collections with the world.
Founded on the Buffalo State campus in 1966, the Burchfield Penney Art Center is a national leader for service to its community. The center is dedicated to the art and vision of renowned American watercolorist Charles E. Burchfield and the distinguished artists of Western New York. In 2008, the Burchfield Penney opened a new $36 million freestanding facility in the heart of Buffalo's Museum District designed by Gwathmey Siegel and Associates of New York City.
This is the second term as director of the Burchfield Penney for Bannon, who led the museum from 1985 to 1996. His first appointment was marked by significant growth and pivotal acquisitions to the collection, including 1,485 objects from collector Charles Rand Penney. He also established key endowments and community partnerships that remain central to the Burchfield Penney's exhibition and collections programming.
After receiving a bachelor's degree from St. Bonaventure University in Olean, Bannon earned a Master of Arts in English with a concentration in media study and a doctorate in English with a focus on cultural studies from the University at Buffalo.
He began his career as a filmmaker and a journalist, serving as the arts editor and critic for the Buffalo Evening News and the Buffalo News from 1969 to 1985.
The Murray L. Bob Memorial Fund was established to honor the longtime director of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System and James Prendergast Library. In keeping with his passion for reading and discussing ideas, it brings a scholar to the library each year to address a local audience on a significant topic.
Previous Bob lectures have dealt with the war on terrorism, ethics of modern medicine, humanitarian crises, corporate subsidies, historians' responsibilities in time of war, philosophy, and a political columnist's view of current events.
For more information about the lecture series, call the library at 484-7135, ext. 225. The library is located at 509 Cherry St., Jamestown.