Sarah Faunce

Sarah Faunce, a longtime curator of European painting at the Brooklyn Museum and an expert on the work of Gustave Courbet, died peacefully April 16, 2018 at the age of 88 in New York City.

Raised in Rye, she attended Milton School and graduated from Rye Country Day School in 1947. She went on to receive a BA from Wellesley College in 1951, an MA from Washington University, and continued her graduate studies at Columbia University.

At the Brooklyn Museum and in the art world of the 1950s, Sarah Faunce was a trailblazer for women who worked at galleries and museums. Meticulous in her research and as demanding of those she mentored as she was of herself, she inspired and helped train a new generation of curators and art historians.

She received particular praise for organizing the 1996 exhibit “In the Light of Italy: Corot and Open-Air Painting”. In addition to co-authoring that show’s book, she also wrote “Courbet Reconsidered” and “Master of Art: Courbet”.

She is survived by her sisters, Nancy Haslett and Madeleine Kosonen; nieces, Julia Haslett and Becky McDermott; and nephews, Ted Faunce and Adam Haslett.

A memorial service was held in June at Church of the Holy Trinity in New York