William M. Hekking

Dr. William Mathews Hekking served as Director of the Albright Art Gallery from 1925 to 1931. When he resigned the position in 1931, he and Harry M. Bell co-founded the Art Institute of Buffalo.  In addition to his administrative duties, he also taught painting. In A Biographical Vignette published in 1962 by David H. Oakes, the author suggested: 

Perhaps Dr. Hekking’s revulsion at what he termed neurotic art, inspired him to seriously consider cutting loose from museum work. Moreover, the demands made upon him as a director left no time for painting.…At age 47, with the national economy still reeling in the Great Depression, he resigned as director of Albright….Almost at once he was seized upon by the Federal Government to assist in the development of a project which became known as the Buffalo (N.Y.) Art Institute. Simultaneously he produced a weekly art column for the Buffalo (N.Y. Evening News.)

 Hekking served as art critic for The Buffalo Evening News and other publications from 1931 to 1934; was director of the Los Angeles Museum of Science, History, and Art from 1937 to 1940; and taught at Syracuse University from 1940 to 1950. In 1950 he took up permanent residence on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine, where he had visited during summers since 1922.  There he became known for his marine paintings and Eskimo portraits of the people of North Labrador.