Wriston, Henry Merritt (1889-1978)
Role: Eleventh PresidentDates: 1937 - 1955
Portrait Location: Library Annex
Artist: Keyes, Bernard > (1898-1973)
Portrait Date:
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 37 1/4
Framed Dimensions: 43 1/2
Brown Portrait Number: 150
Brown Historical Property Number: 1001
Henry Merritt Wriston, the first non-Baptist president and first non-alumnus since Francis Wayland (1827-1855), came to Brown in 1937 from Lawrence College, where he had served as president since 1925. Wriston sought, in his words, "to awaken decent pride" at Brown. His presidency marked a turning point for the university, as he moved the institution into challenging relations with foundations, peer institutions, and the intellectual currents which were rapidly transforming the American educational system. Among the many accomplishments for which he is fondly remembered at Brown include the post-war establishment of a temporary college for 486 returning veterans, Brown's most diverse student body to date, and the construction of Wriston Quad dormitory housing, allowing the university to expand the geographic base of its student body. This painting hung in the stair hall of Pembroke Hall from the 1950s until the building was renovated in 2008. In that renovation the original staircase was removed and the original white plaster walls were replaced with glass partitions. The Pembroke Hall portrait of Henry Wriston was then removed to storage.