Professor JoAnne Carson’s Planned Gift Will Create a Legacy of Art for the Future

“Art materials are expensive, and a lack of materials can sharply curtail a student’s ability to succeed,” says Professor JoAnne Carson. This exact reason is why Professor Carson made a generous, six-figure planned gift to the Department of Art and Art History at UAlbany. “Financially supporting students who are in need of materials to pursue their art practice is of great importance to me.”

Splitting her time today between Shoreham, Vermont, and Brooklyn, New York, with spouse Jim Butler, Professor Carson retired from UAlbany in 2021. She joined the UAlbany faculty in 1985, and her artwork has been exhibited widely across the United States—including at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, the Whitney Museum in New York City, and Frederick Weisman Collection in Los Angeles. Professor Carson has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and scores of other honors.

An O’Leary Distinguished Professor of Art with a storied tenure as a member of UAlbany’s faculty, Professor Carson is the former graduate director and chair of the department of Art and Art History. She served as the chair of the department for six years and was head of graduate studies for another 15. “I was on the faculty of UAlbany for most of my working career. It gave me an opportunity to work closely with young artists and valued colleagues,” Carson reminisced. “I am frequently in touch with former students.”

JoAnne Carson, Forbidden Fruit, 2024, 48x60, acrylic on canvas

Tomorrow’s student-artists will be the beneficiaries of two future endowments Professor Carson’s planned gift will someday create; one endowment will help students obtain art supplies and materials, and the other will support students pursuing painting and drawing—artforms in which Professor Carson still participates today.

Ensuring that student-artists have the materials to succeed is meaningful to Professor Carson, and she hopes that others will join her in encouraging the next generation of creative and talented alumni. “The arts enrich life in so many ways. I want to continue to be a part of that.”