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George Eastman Museum Names
Patrick Loughney New Curator of
Motion Pictures
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman Museum announced the appointment of Dr. Patrick Loughney, head of moving images at the Library of Congress, to the position of curator of motion pictures. Dr. Loughney has worked with the motion picture collections of the Library of Congress for more than 25 years, currently responsible for the largest collection of film and video materials in North America. He will assume his George Eastman Museum post in January 2005, also holding the position of director of the George Eastman Museum’s L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation, the country’s first school of film preservation, and with teaching responsibilities in film studies in the English department at the University of Rochester.
“Dr. Loughney’s experience and strengths align with George Eastman Museum’s mission and collections. With his extensive film knowledge and proven preservation efforts, his worldwide leadership experience in motion picture archives will position George Eastman Museum to ask the challenging questions before us as the museum enters an era of new technologies,” said Dr. Anthony Bannon, director of George Eastman Museum. “His ability to shape new directions for George Eastman Museum and the field, along with his recognized ability as a teacher and mentor, are decisive factors in his appointment. The Library of Congress has been an important and longtime partner in film conservation and preservation, and we wholeheartedly welcome Dr. Loughney and his expertise to George Eastman Museum.”
At George Eastman Museum Dr. Loughney will oversee a motion picture collection of 3.6 million artifacts, featuring one of the world’s most important and unique collections of silent films; the largest collection of Technicolor negatives; and the personal collections of Cecil B. DeMille, Martin Scorsese, Ken Burns, Norman Jewison, Philip Kaufman and Spike Lee. George Eastman House is one of the country’s five major film archives, alongside Library of Congress, UCLA Film and Television Archive, Museum of Modern Art, and the Academy Film Archive. The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation, which Dr. Loughney will oversee as director, was founded in 1996. The school has teamed with the University of Rochester to offer a two-year master’s degree program, the Selznick Graduate Program in Film and Media Preservation, the first museum and university collaboration of its kind encompassing both curatorship and film studies.
“George Eastman Museum . . . is one of world’s greatest institutions for moving image research, preservation and education. I am most pleased to have the opportunity to join the distinguished staff of the motion picture department and the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation,” Dr. Loughney said. “Public awareness of the need to preserve America’s film heritage has never been higher and George Eastman Museum is widely recognized as an international leader in that effort. I look forward to building on that wonderful record of achievement and success.”
Dr. Loughney’s experience is extensive in film history, preservation, curating and acquisitions. His present position with Library of Congress is head of the moving image section and motion picture and television reading room. In this capacity he oversees an archive of more than 5 million motion picture artifacts: more than 250,000 film titles; more than 300,000 television programs and related documentation; and a broad collection of motion picture related artifacts and materials. He also serves as the senior historian and curatorial advisor, while supervising a staff of 34 curators, librarians, catalogers, and technicians.
He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University. His career with the Library of Congress began in accession and catalogue positions. Over the span of two decades he was promoted to archivist and later curator of film programs, prior to his appointment in 1996 to head of moving images.
Dr. Loughney is a frequent speaker at film festivals, conferences, and universities and has been extensively published domestically and internationally. His professional affiliations include membership in the Fédération Internationale des Archives du Film (FIAF), Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA), and the Society of American Archivists.
About George Eastman Museum
Located on the estate of Kodak founder George Eastman, the father of popular photography and inventor of motion picture film, George Eastman Museum is one of the most important film archives in the world. Founded in 1949, the archive houses 26,000 film titles and 3.5 million pieces of film-related publicity stills, posters, scores, scripts, and pre-cinema artifacts. George Eastman Museum also holds he world’s largest technology collection with 16,000 pieces of camera technology. Its Selznick School, established by L. Jeffrey Selznick, son of famed film producer David O. Selznick, is regarded as the premier venue of professional training in film preservation, restoration, and archiving. Last year George Eastman Museum restored more than 500 reels of film. Notable restorations of feature films include Snow White (1916), Sherlock Holmes (1922) starring John Barrymore, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Whispering Chorus (1918) and The Ten Commandments (1923), and The Lost World (1925).
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