Silas Harvey Rhodes, 1915-2007

The New York Times is reporting that Silas Rhodes, co-founder of the School of Visual Arts, died June 27 at his home in New York.

Rhodes was born in the Bronx, was educated at Long Island University, and received post-graduate degrees in English from Columbia University. According to the Times obituary, In World War II he flew missions in the South Pacific and Asia.

At the time of the founding of what would become the School of Visual Arts, Rhodes was working for the Veterans administration. Hogarth said in a 1993 interview with Gary Groth that Rhodes was also teaching English, and that it was Rhodes' suggestion that Hogarth and he go into partnership and transform the classes Hogarth was teaching on a pay-per basis into a formally credited institution, allowing veterans to spend their educational allotment from the GI Bill at the school. That institution came into existence in 1947 through the investment of both partners and the help of a $40,000 personal loan from a friend of Hogarth's and was originally called the Cartoonists and Illustrators School. According to the Times, the original faculty numbered three people and the student body 35. The school would change to its present name in 1955.

School of Visual Arts enjoyed singular success as both a place for educating generations of cartoonists and artists, but also as a successful and unique institution. According to Hogarth, Rhodes and he split the duties with Rhodes primarily responsible for managing the business and administration end of the school and Hogarth in charge of curriculum, although the Times piece suggests a more fluid relationship, with Rhodes teaching some of the Humanities course and pushing for a fuller student curriculum. The Rhodes-Hogarth relationship would eventually deteriorate and in 1970 the cartoonist retired from the school. Under Rhodes' stewardship, the school became accredited to give out Bachelor's degrees in Fine Arts, and swelled to almost its current number of 3000 graduate and undergraduate students.

Rhodes' son and current SVA President David Rhodes told the Times his father died after a full day in his home office.

Silas Rhodes is survived by three sons and six grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Beatrice. Silas Rhodes was 91 years old.

It should be noted that the NYT obituary spends a few graphs on describing how Rhodes and Hogarth appeared before Joseph McCarthy in one of his investigations of communist influence on various institutions, leading to a confrontation between Rhodes and McCarthy. I've never heard this story before and I can't find immediate confirmation. I do have a crap memory, though. I'll ask around and see if I can find some more information. If I can, I'll add a graph to the above.
 
posted 3:20 am PST | Permalink
 

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