GEH Press Release: Patrick Loughney Named George Eastman H..

For Immediate Release
Oct. 29, 2004

George Eastman House names
Patrick Loughney curator of motion pictures
Currently head of moving images at Library of Congress

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - George Eastman House International Museum of Photography
and Film announces the appointment of Dr. Patrick Loughney, head of moving
images at the Library of Congress, to the position of curator of motion
pictures. Dr. Loughney has worked with the motion picture collections of the
Library of Congress for more than 25 years, currently responsible for the
largest collection of film and video materials in North America. He will
assume his Eastman House post in January, also holding the position of
director of the Eastman House's L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film
Preservation, the country's first school of film preservation, and with
teaching responsibilities in film studies in the English Department at the
University of Rochester.

"Dr. Loughney's experience and strengths align with George Eastman House's
mission and collections. With his extensive film knowledge and proven
preservation efforts, his worldwide leadership experience in motion picture
archives will position George Eastman House to ask the challenging questions
before us as the museum enters an era of new technologies," said Dr. Anthony
Bannon, director of George Eastman House. "His ability to shape new
directions for George Eastman House and the field, along with his recognized
ability as a teacher and mentor, are decisive factors in his appointment.
The Library of Congress has been an important and longtime partner in film
conservation and preservation, and we wholeheartedly welcome Dr. Loughney
and his expertise to George Eastman House."

At George Eastman House Dr. Loughney will oversee a motion picture
collection of 3.6 million artifacts, featuring one of the world's most
important and unique collections of silent films; the largest collection of
Technicolor negatives; and the personal collections of Cecil B. DeMille,
Martin Scorsese, Ken Burns, Norman Jewison, Philip Kaufman, and Spike Lee.
George Eastman House is one of the country's five major film archives,
alongside Library of Congress, UCLA Film and Television Archive, Museum of
Modern Art, and the Academy Film Archive. The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of
Film Preservation, which Dr. Loughney will oversee as director, was founded
in 1996. The school has teamed with the University of Rochester to offer a
two-year master's degree program, the Selznick Graduate Program in Film and
Media Preservation, the first museum and university collaboration of its
kind encompassing both curatorship and film studies.

"George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film is one of
world's greatest institutions for moving image research, preservation and
education. I am most pleased to have the opportunity to join the
distinguished staff of the motion picture department and the L. Jeffrey
Selznick School of Film Preservation," Dr. Loughney said. "Public awareness
of the need to preserve America's film heritage has never been higher and
George Eastman House is widely recognized as an international leader in that
effort. I look forward to building on that wonderful record of achievement
and success."

Dr. Loughney's experience is extensive in film history, preservation,
curating, and acquisitions. His present position with Library of Congress is
head of the Moving Image Section and Motion Picture & Television Reading
Room. In this capacity he oversees an archive of more than 5 million motion
picture artifacts: more than 250,000 film titles; more than 300,000
television programs and related documentation; and a broad collection of
motion picture related artifacts and materials. He also serves as the senior
historian and curatorial advisor, while supervising a staff of 34 curators,
librarians, catalogers, and technicians.

He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from George Washington University. His
career with the Library of Congress began in accession and catalogue
positions. Over the span of two decades he was promoted to archivist and
later curator of film programs, prior to his appointment in 1996 to head of
moving images.

Dr. Loughney is a frequent speaker at film festivals, conferences, and
universities and has been extensively published domestically and
internationally. His professional affiliations include membership in the
Fédération Internationale des Archives du Film (FIAF), Association of Moving
Image Archivists (AMIA), and the Society of American Archivists.


About George Eastman House
Located on the estate of Kodak founder George Eastman, the father of popular
photography and inventor of motion picture film, George Eastman House is one
of the most important film archives in the world. Founded in 1949, the
archive houses 26,000 film titles and 3.5 million pieces of film-related
publicity stills, posters, scores, scripts, and pre-cinema artifacts.
Eastman House also holds he world's largest technology collection with
16,000 pieces of camera technology. Its Selznick School, established by L.
Jeffrey Selznick, son of famed film producer David O. Selznick, is regarded
as the premier venue of professional training in film preservation,
restoration, and archiving. Last year George Eastman House restored more
than 500 reels of film. Notable restorations of feature films include Snow
White (1916), Sherlock Holmes starring John Barrymore (1922), Cecile B.
DeMille's The Whispering Chorus (1918) and The Ten Commandments (1923) and),
and The Lost World (1925).


--
Rob Farr
www.slapsticon.org