Georgia Museum of Art presents second annual Henry D. Green Lifetime Achievement Award to Brad Rauschenberg

L to R: Linda Chesnut, chair of GMOA's Decorative Arts Advisory Committee; Brad Rauschenberg; and Dale Couch

Brad Rauschenberg became the second recipient of the Henry D. Green Lifetime Achievement award, presented by the Georgia Museum of Art on March 10.

The award recognizes the achievements of an antiquarian, art historical or material culture practitioner who has made significant contributions to the field of southern decorative arts. Contributions include scholarship, institutional program expansion, administration, publications, service, exhibitions, presentations, mentorship, research, education, financial support or advocacy of southern decorative art.

Last year’s award went to prominent antiques dealer Deanne Deavours for her influence on the standards and experience of art collection.

This year, in a unanimous decision by the award committee, Rauschenberg won it for his influence on decorative arts scholars and practitioners through mentorship, articles and books, as well as his work at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) and Old Salem Museums and Gardens.

“This is not a perfunctory award,” says GMOA curator of decorative arts Dale L. Couch. “It is literally next to impossible to exaggerate the contributions to decorative arts scholarship that this man has made. His published scholarship alone would be significant, but he must be credited with the establishment of many of the tools that most decorative arts scholarship is based on.”

Rauschenberg was instrumental in the conception of MESDA’s photographic research files as well as the development of the museum’s field research program.

“What he did is create, largely through his own ideas and efforts, centralized scholarship for southern decorative arts that has been the basis for satellite programs such as the Green Center,” says Couch.