Glen Franklin Kaufman

Glen Franklin Kaufman, 87, UGA Professor of Art Emeritus, passed from this life on Jan. 16, 2020 following a short debilitating illness. A resident of Athens, Big Canoe and Kyoto, Japan he was preceded in death in 1983 by Charlene Page Kaufman, his beloved wife of 29 years.

Born in Fort Atkinson, WI on Oct. 28, 1932 to Eli and Elynor (née Jensik) Kaufman he grew up in the neo-Tudor house his father hand built. A graduate of Fort Atkinson High School, he entered the University of Wisconsin-Madison on an Air Force ROTC scholarship and there met the love of his life Charlene Page. Immediately following graduation with honors, they were married in Kalamazoo, MI (1954). Stationed to Lockbourne AFB in Columbus, OH, he served in the pilot education office for Strategic Air Command. Following transition to the reserves, he entered the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, earning an MFA in Weaving & Textiles (1959) and was a Fulbright Scholar at the State School of Arts & Crafts, Copenhagen, Denmark (1960).

Upon returning to the US, he worked as a designer for Dorothy Liebes in New York City before returning to Cranbrook to head the Fiber Department. It was during this tenure that son Page was born (1962), and the family adopted their beloved Old English sheepdog “Pip,” who became famous around Athens for taking in the wind and views through the open top of Char’s VW Beatle.

Hired to UGA by Lamar Dodd (1967), he quickly rose to the ranks of full Professor (1972) and subsequently spent a year as a Visiting Artist at the Royal College of Art, London (1976). During his 40-year tenure at UGA, he received numerous grants, including: NEA (1976, 80, 81, 82, 83, and 90), Ford Foundation (1979), Georgia Council for the Arts (1991), and UGA Research Foundation (1992, 96). His numerous honors and Awards include: Honorary Life Member, Surface Design Assoc. (1983); UGA Research Medal (1988); Fellow, American Craft Council (1988); UGA M.G. Michael Award (1991); UGA Albert Christ-Janer Award for Creative Research (1992); Phi Beta Delta (1992); Study Abroad Director of the Year (2004); and Smithsonian Institution of the National Galleries of American Art James Renwick Distinguished Educator Award (2014).

His work appeared in more than 60 solo exhibitions in New York, Boston, Kyoto, Berkeley, Tokyo, Sapporo, Honolulu, San Francisco, Osaka, Nagoya, Seattle, Seoul, Busan, Atlanta and more than 130 group exhibitions in North America, Europe and Asia. His works are in the permanent collections of more than 20 museums, including the Museum of Art and Design, NY; The Art Institute of Chicago; Ba Tang Gol Art Center, Seoul; The Cleveland Museum of Art; Juraku Museum, Kyoto, Japan; Long House Foundation, San Francisco; H.M. de Young Museum, San Francisco; Smithsonian Institution, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC; Rockford Art Assn., Rockford, IL; and S.C. Johnson Collection, OBJECTS, Washington, DC. He served as a consultant/designer for numerous entities including GM, Owens-Corning, Uniroyal, Regal Rugs, Northern Petrochemical, Surface Design Assn., and Juraku Int’l Textile Ctr. He presented at more than 90 lectures and workshops around the world and authored Design on Fabrics – a seminal reference on surface design – along with more than 30 articles in professional periodicals. Since 1983, he spent 4-6 months a year at his residence in Kyoto, Japan as a revered expert in Japanese fabric design techniques.

Survivors include beloved son and daughter-in-law Page & Jeanne Kaufman of Flowery Branch, grandson Lt. Lee Kaufman (USN) of Silverdale, WA and dear and beloved friends, students and colleagues the world over.

The family will receive friends on Monday, Jan. 27 from 6 to 7:30pm followed by a Rosary at Bernstein Funeral Home, 3195 Atlanta Hwy., Athens. A Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 10:30am at the Chapel of St. Joseph’s Catholic School, 958 Epps Bridge Pkwy, Athens (Note that seating in the School Chapel is limited). A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2pm at the UGA Chapel, 109 Herty Dr., Athens, followed by a reception at the College of Environment & Design, 285 S. Jackson St., Athens. Parking is at the North Campus Deck.

In lieu of flowers, Glen requests that tax-deductible donations be made payable to the “Kaufman Fabric Study Collection/UGA Library” and mailed to PO Box 275, Marble Hill, GA 30148.

Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of funeral arrangements.