Lynn Herrick Sharp is celebrating 50 years of involvement with the Delaware Art Museum. She first discovered DelArt in 1976, when she was living in Washington, D.C., and dating her now husband, Rodney Sharp, who lived in Wilmington. Lynn immediately saw the potential in DelArt and got involved by joining the board, where she helped lead a successful expansion campaign in the 1980s that paved the way for more investment in contemporary art.
“There were so many board leaders and funders who worked hard to make the ’86 campaign a success,” Lynn says. “It was a joy working with Board Presidents Pam Richards and Tom Brokaw, DuPont company CEO Ed Woolard, and countless others in the community. Together we expanded the Museum and brought in exciting exhibitions.”
With more gallery space, Lynn started pushing “anyone who would listen” that DelArt needed to invest more in contemporary art. Her persistence paid off, and in the 1980s and 90s, DelArt engaged more local artists and began building its collection. As the collection grew, Lynn advocated for and helped support a new contemporary curator position.
“Margaret Winslow’s knowledge and foresight was the spark that we needed,” Lynn says of DelArt’s longtime Curator of Contemporary Art, who also serves as the head of the Museum’s art and learning department.
Today, the Lynn Herrick Sharp Gallery, located on the Museum’s second floor, showcases DelArt’s fast-growing contemporary art collection, which features national artists and beloved local and regional artists.
“We started imagining what the Museum could be in 1976. We built the buildings we envisioned and acquired both the community and collection that we wanted,” Lynn says. “It’s an all over success. But we haven’t stopped imagining yet!”
We thank Lynn for her leadership, vision, guidance, and support. Most importantly, we thank her for pushing DelArt to continue reimagining how the Museum can best serve its community.