Thirty-nine years ago, two men bearing a still-moist painting of then-president J. Seelye Bixler drove their station wagon from Waterville to the Beekman Towers Hotel in New York City for a meeting they hoped would change forever the complexion of the College. The two men, Ed Turner, Colby's vice president for development and an avid art lover, and Willard Cummings, co-founder of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the painter of the Bixler portrait, were representing a group of people who dreamed of developing a first-class collection for the College's budding museum of art. The woman with whom they met, Edith Jetté, was a discerning collector and the wife of long-time Colby trustee and chairman of the Hathaway company Ellerton Jetté. Turner and Cummings's proposal, that Edith Jetté chair an organization to support the acquisition and exhibition of art at Colby, was the genesis of the Friends of Art. She said "yes," and a year later, the Friends of Art sponsored its first exhibition. Since then the group has helped sponsor 370 shows, helped acquire some of the museum's 3,500 works of art and been a driving force in its public outreach. The meeting in New York with Edith Jetté was emblematic of the connections the Friends of Art have used to advance the museum's growth. The museum has long been served by a network of influential persons in the art community, including former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art Lloyd Goodrich. Goodrich served on the original advisory council, which later became the Board of Governors and which helped guide the museum during its early years. In 1963, with the help of Goodrich and 52 museum directors, curators, art historians, scholars, artists and dealers, the Friends of Art assembled an exhibition to celebrate Colby's sesquicentennial, titled "Maine and Its Artists: 1710-1963." The exhibition opened to wide acclaim, was included in a Time magazine roundup of spring art shows and later was mounted at the Whitney Museum, where it broke an attendance record. Jere Abbott, associate director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, also was a devoted friend of the museum. Abbott, a Maine native, was one of the founding members of the museum's advisory council. Through his contacts, the museum was able to attract donors and supporters who enhanced the collection and helped the museum's reputation grow. Abbott created an art acquisition endowment fund that today is valued at more than $4.8 million. The Friends of Art established an ambitious outreach program that brings more than 7,000 school children to view the College's collection each year. That project is now coordinated by museum staff and supported by grants from the Joan Whitney and Charles Shipman Payson Charitable Foundation and the Betterment Fund. Friends of Art members serve as docents. "The Friends of Art really provides us a way of serving as a public museum," said Hugh Gourley, director of the museum. "Their support provides funds for exhibitions, lectures and other events. They provide an important service." The Friends of Art now hopes to broaden its membership and is seeking more Colby alumni as participants. "Colby alumni should feel very proud about the museum of art," said Turner, who is leading the membership drive along with Friends co-chairs Hillary and Edmund Ervin '36. "It is one of the most important small college museums in the country and enhances Colby's reputation." As efforts to add exhibition space to the museum continue, Colby alumni will become an even more essential group in the museum's success, says Turner. "The museum has attracted support from people who in many cases had no relationship to the College," he said. "We would like to have more Colby alumni become involved." Friends of Art also hopes to engage more student interest in the museum, which would translate into greater alumni participation, Turner says. "We have this tremendous resource available here and students often don't take full advantage of it. We want to build awareness about what the museum can offer."