YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – To understand how The Butler Institute of American Art has expanded over the past four decades, just walk around the exterior of the property.
The original 1919 structure, a small but grand marble building with Renaissance Revival architecture, is still the main facade.
But four modern additions were built to the Youngstown, Ohio, museum in separate projects between 1987 and 2023. And, a neighboring building became part of the museum in 2005, connected by a skybridge.
The growth was matched on the inside, as the galleries were refitted with the lighting and preservation properties of a great museum.
The museum also added a store, restaurant, storage space and a painting conservation and restoration program.
Even more importantly, the museum’s collection of artworks from all eras, genres and artists also grew exponentially.
The Butler became the premiere place for telling the story of this nation’s art, and earned the respect of art lovers across the world.
All of these expansions and improvements were done under the vision and leadership of Louis A. Zona, who was executive director and curator of the museum for over four decades.
Zona was named executive director in 1981. His tenure ended with the start of this new year, although he still maintains an emeritus role to share his wisdom.
In a recent interview in his office at The Butler, the 81-year-old looked back on his accomplishments.
When asked what makes him most proud, he gives a simple reply: “The museum.”
Massive Collection
The Butler’s collection stands at 22,000 works of art, and – most importantly – includes pieces by nearly every American artist of note.
Building that collection toward completeness was always at the core of Zona’s efforts.
As he walks through the museum, he can stop at any piece and discuss the artist who created it, what makes it great and when and how the museum acquired it.
The Butler was a small and simpler place when Zona – then an art professor at Youngstown State University – took charge.
He arranged the museum to be educational. Visitors learn the story of American art in chronological order by walking through the galleries.
Acquiring key works was part of his plan, and Zona sought pieces that helped tell the story.
“It was important to show [the museum visitor] the historical pattern that was happening,” he says. “The earliest works are in the front gallery. There is a lot of portraiture, because that’s what was happening in art in the 1700s and 1800s. If an artist had a job, it was as a painter of portraits, and eventually it grew to landscapes and eventually to abstraction.”
The ensuing galleries focus on Impressionism, Western scenes, 20th Century art and contemporary pieces.
“You can then veer off into the modern wing (the Beecher), and of course, post-World War II art, which is one of my favorite periods,” Zona says.
Other galleries feature sports art, realism, new media, Americana and folk art and touring exhibitions.
The Early Days
When he was a professor at YSU in the 1970s, Zona would take his students to The Butler. At that time, the museum consisted of its original building and the 1931 wing additions, including their second floors, added in 1968.
“The museum was rustic, to say the least,” he says. “The lighting was fluorescent tubes, and little had been done to the physical plant.”
The museum was run by Joseph G. Butler III in those days.
“It was just basically what the founder gave us, which was the one main gallery, and the two side galleries,” Zona recalls.
He credits Butler III for laying the foundation for advancement.
“He had no education in art, but had a terrific eye for art,” Zona says. “He had a sense about him and put together this wonderful collection that we were able to build upon. He would buy paintings, which is one reason that we have such a great collection.”
Zona vividly recalls the day Butler III hired him.
“He saw me walking through the museum one day with a class of students,” Zona says. “And later that afternoon, he said, ‘Lou, would you like to program The Butler for me?’ I said, of course, I would love to do that. And it has been going on until now.”
After putting his life into The Butler, letting go of it wasn’t easy for him.
Administrative and visionary duties no longer fall to Zona, but he hopes to remain involved in some capacity.
“I’d be probably satisfied with being involved with the collection and continuing to do some of the programs that I developed and use some of the spaces that I created,” he says.
Serving as interim executive director for the first half of this year is Larry Jones.
An Austintown native, Jones is a former television executive for Nick at Night. He and the board of trustees are conducting a national search for a new executive director.
Great Acquisitions
Art is acquired by the museum in several ways. Sometimes it is a gift from a collector, or from the artist or his heirs. Pieces are also purchased from galleries and collectors.
One of the greatest acquisitions by Zona was the massive Pierre Soulages ceramic mural that now sits in the museum’s window along Wick Avenue. The priceless piece was made by the great French artist on commission for the lobby of the Oliver Building in downtown Pittsburgh. When the building owners no longer wanted it, Zona was able to secure it as a gift in 2009.
Another landmark acquisition was Norman Rockwell’s painting “Lincoln the Railsplitter.” The museum purchased it for $1.6 million from Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot in 2006.
A small painting by iconic abstract artist Jackson Pollock was given to The Butler in 2009 by the family of Bill Roemer, former owner of Sharon Steel Corp.
A particularly great day came when the museum acquired several abstract paintings by Robert Motherwell.
“We got a letter from the Daedalus Foundation [which oversees his art] saying Mr. Motherwell has passed away and his collection should go to private institutions and not private collectors,” Zona recalls. “So I wrote them a letter, and they replied ‘Come to New York and we’ll help you select appropriate pieces for the Butler collection.’”
It seemed too good to be true, but it happened. Zona contacted the late Max Draime, who was a Butler trustee, a private collector and a philanthropist to the museum.
“I told him, ‘They want to give us a Motherwell,’ and Max said, ‘I’ll have my plane ready to go,’” Zona says.
The foundation gave The Butler four paintings, including “Mexican Past,” which has been prominently placed in a second-floor space.
Artists
Zona also drew attention to the museum by exhibiting artworks by movie and rock stars.
“It brought a lot of people into the museum,” he says. “Maybe for not the right reason, but they were nonetheless here, and we got some members as a result of it.”
Most of the artists visited the museum and interacted with supporters, including Peter Falk, Kim Novak, John Mellencamp, Paul Stanley and Jim Steranko.
One of them, Tony Bennett, first met Zona in the mid-1990s, and the two would eventually become “like family,” Zona says.
“He was on a local radio station for a few minutes and I called in and said, ‘Tony, have you ever been to The Butler? Why don’t you stop in when you’re in town?’ And he did.”
Accolades
As Zona’s era at The Butler came to an end, the local and national art world took notice.
Ryan Martino, chairman of the museum’s board of trustees, described Zona as “a brilliant man” who has “gone above and beyond what anyone could ever do, and will forever be part of the museum.”
William Mullane of Warren, who has been an educator, civic leader and artist in the Valley for many years, spoke of Zona’s unique ability to connect with people.
The longtime leader of Trumbull Art Gallery, Mullane worked on projects with Zona many times over the last 40 years.
His deepest admiration for Zona comes from knowing firsthand the obstacles he faced.
“Lou is a remarkable director and a visionary,” Mullane says. He cited Zona’s ability to make happen “whatever was necessary to build a world-class museum at a time when 90% of the people in the community thought he would be crazy to try to raise millions of dollars to build one.”
Zona had long understood the importance of being open to the community, which made him different from most museum directors.
“[Other museum operators] talk about being open [to the public] but charge $20 at the door and more to park,” Mullane says. “Lou taught others how to use that openness to raise money. He has done myriad things to raise money. He built the collection and deserves all the kudos and respect that he’s getting. He was a mentor to lots of folks who are now well into their careers.”
Mullane is also a former principal of Warren G. Harding High School and other Warren City schools, and is a supervisor for the Ashtabula County Educational Service Center.
Gallery Owner
The praise and appreciation is equally strong among insiders in the art community.
Jane Coats Eckert owns and operates the Massachusetts-based Eckert Fine Art gallery.
She has worked with Zona many times over the past 30 years to create exhibitions featuring artists she represents. The list includes two greats: painter and graphic artist Robert Rauschenberg and sculptor Don Gummer.
“I’ve worked with many museums throughout my long career, and no one has impressed me more than Lou,” Eckert says in an email. “Besides being an educator and expert in the world of American art, his infectious personality and love of art makes him a joy to work with.”
She describes The Butler as a gem of a museum with some of the finest examples of American art from the late 19th century to current time.
“Lou’s vision to hold true to the roots of the original collection and expand the collection to some of the most important art of the 20th and 21st century is unparalleled,” Eckert says.
Mentioning Zona to other gallery owners or artists always garners the same reaction, she says.
“They have great admiration for him and appreciate the respect he shows to them,” Eckert says. “The other word they all use for him is ‘kind.’”
Having an exhibition at The Butler or having a work become part of its collection is an honor for an artist. “It elevates your stature in the art world,” Eckert says.
‘Perfect Director’
New Jersey artist Gary Erbe has become a favorite at The Butler.
He’s known for his paintings that resemble collages of memorabilia. One piece, “Baseball Album,” was commissioned by the museum and is always on view.
The internationally recognized artist became acquainted with Zona in 1983.
Zona loved Erbe’s art and asked him to do an exhibition. It was a critical moment in Erbe’s career.
“He understands the plight of the living artist, and he gave a lot of artists a break [by giving them] shows at his museum,” Erbe says. “Most museum directors are not that generous. They’re mostly snooty. Lou is truly a rarity in the museum world. He’s just extremely generous, and he’s not standoffish. He welcomes people at the museum. He was the perfect museum director.”
Zona’s longevity as director of The Butler is rare for the industry, Erbe says.
“He is well-known because of the fact that he’s been there so long,” he says. “Very few directors have ever lasted that long.”
Erbe has seen firsthand the changes Zona brought to The Butler.
“When I first met Lou, the museum was sort of in the dark ages,” Erbe says. “What he has accomplished for that museum is absolutely incredible.”
The museum is not in a major city and is therefore off the beaten track in the art world.
But the collection Zona has assembled put it on the map.
“The Butler is known all over the world,” Erbe says. “A number of years ago, the Louvre Museum in Paris had a special exhibit about American masterpieces, and they borrowed paintings from The Butler for that show, because they knew that it had such great paintings.”
Pictured at top: Louis A. Zona, who served as executive director and curator of The Butler Institute of American Art for more than four decades, has retired after a tenure marked by the museum’s significant expansion and rise to national prominence.
