The Gary Fink Scholarship: Remembering a one-of-a-kind patron of the arts
This week marks the opening of the Department of Art’s annual Undergraduate Scholarship Exhibition in the Quarter Gallery: a show of artworks by a select group of BA- & BFA-seeking students who’ve received scholarships for artistic merit. In addition to seven previously existing scholarships, this year marks the inclusion of a new funding opportunity for our undergrads: the Gary Fink Scholarship.
Gary Fink, who passed away in 2022, led a gregarious and artful life — by all accounts, he was quite a character. Born in New York City in 1935 (“to somewhat functional parents,” according to his obituary), Gary built a successful career as an award-winning insurance agent but is widely regarded as a modern-day Renaissance man. The Burlington Neighbourhoods Real Estate Team blog describes him as such:
“He's a Midwesterner and a New Yorker; a businessman and philanthropist. He's an art collector with a degree in Russian history and a talent for interior design. He's an award-winning insurance agent; a dedicated family man with a large soft spot for needy kids and abandoned animals; a noteworthy fundraiser for charity; and a cartoonist with a macabre (his word) sense of humor.”
Gary’s philanthropy extended to the Children's Home Society, Children's Heartlink, The Wildlife Conservation Society, and The Wildcat Sanctuary, among others. He also published two books of cartoons with Randy Evert and illustrator Jack Lindstrom, and he even wrote a memoir, 2012’s The Power of Positive Phynque-ing: The Autobiography of an Absolute Nobody. The cover features five portraits of Fink in and out of different costumes, including one dressed as his beloved Groucho Marx. The book’s Dedication lists another twenty inspirations from Gary’s “Hall of Fame” — each one either a comedian, actor, musician, or athlete. No visual artists made that list, but a deep engagement with art persisted nonetheless.
Together with his wife JoAnn, Gary built a strong and eclectic private collection of artwork, including the likes of Deborah Butterfield, Thomas Hart Benton, Manuel Neri, and Hunt Slonem, among many others. Together the Finks founded Museum Louvre It Or Leave It to showcase their collection — a light-hearted moniker for a serious collection, one that includes photographs from the Civil Rights Movement and a permanent exhibit about the horrors of the Holocaust. The gallery was located first in downtown Minneapolis and later moved to Eden Prairie.
UMN Art alum Megan Rye (MFA ‘03), whose work is also in the Finks’ collection, remembers the impact that Gary had on her own practice:
“I met Gary and JoAnn right out of my MFA program at the University of Minnesota. It is the early support in an artist’s career that makes the critical difference. As a young painter, it was extremely powerful to have Gary believe in my work, connecting me to Forum Gallery in NYC, bring museum directors out to my studio, and supporting my projects financially.
“I had the privilege of painting a series of family portraits inspired by black and white photographs from the Fink family photo album. The best were portraits of Gary, dressed up as Groucho Marx and sitting amidst his collection of objects in an old office. The photos I worked from captured his spirit, humor, and humanity.
“The memory of Gary is with me every day in my studio. And he will be an integral part of all my future paintings.”
In addition to managing the collection, the Phynque Phamily Phoundation (whose name is another example of Gary's love for absurdist comedy) also administers scholarships to art students, and undergrad Scout Ober became the University of Minnesota’s inaugural recipient. The exhibition features several of Scout’s prints: detailed etchings embellished with colored chine collé, some featuring visible fingerprints and scratch marks, each one playing with space, mark, color, and narrative.
For the artist, the Gary Fink Scholarship goes beyond mere recognition; it has been an investment in their long-term success. “As a disabled, non-traditional student who is living on an extremely low income,” says Scout, “this award has allowed me the support and stability to invest in my artistic pursuits in a sustainable way that will have long-lasting impacts on my life and career as an artist. Being able to afford both my basic needs and art supplies during my Junior year, I have been able to rest and eat consistent meals and also make the work that I feel most passionate about. It sounds simple, but this has afforded me access to energy typically reserved for navigating short-term survival, instead putting it towards researching the best MFA programs for my goals and developing multiple strong bodies of work so that I can confidently apply next winter.”
The other artists in the exhibition — Nikki Son, Kamron Legred, Guanjian She, Sydney Miller, Murphey Stromberg, Ella Leidy, and Taylor Wald — also benefit from the generous support of numerous scholarship funds, and the Department of Art is pleased to add the Gary Fink Scholarship to that roster of art benefactors. Through this fund, Gary’s wit and zeal live on — supporting serious work but upholding one of Groucho Marx’s famous lines: “If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong.”
