William Moloney at the MIA in 1932 or ’33.
His sweater, torn to shreds, gives him away. An urchin, a ragamuffin, a child of the Great Depression. He is William Moloney from northeast Minneapolis, according to the caption, age 11. What could he relate to in the marble temple to the arts?
In 2015, as the MIA celebrates a century of art and wonder, we’ll be running historic behind-the-scenes glimpses like this from the museum’s past—one every week on MIA Stories. And we hope you’ll share your stories on the Birthday Year website. As we look forward to the next hundred years, it’s worth remembering where we’ve been, what’s changed (ferns in the galleries, anyone?)—and what hasn’t.
Like sharing the power of art. We don’t know what it meant to Moloney, back in 1932 or ’33 when this photo was taken, to come through the museum with his classmates from Webster School. Only that he drew the attention of the tour guide, identified as Miss Olson, who noticed how much he resembled the sculpture and arranged for a photograph. For whatever reason, Olson asked his nationality, and the caption records his response: “German, Austrian, Irish, and Bohemian.”
We do know what this photograph says to us. Moloney’s teacher likely saw beyond the uncanny resemblance—the cheekbones, the mouth, the nose—to a tender connection spanning time and circumstance. It says more about art and society and history and hope than we ever could. Indeed, we don’t have to: the photo says it all.
Watch for more Once at MIA stories beginning January 1, 2015. And share yours at artsmia.org/100.