WILLIAM S. FAIRFIELD (1924-1993)

Bill Fairfield was a journalist, teacher, public servant, a real estate developer, an art collector and a visionary. He was born in northeastern Wisconsin and lived in Door County the last 25 years of his life, developing residential real estate in accordance with environmental principles he had helped pioneer in the 1960s as a key advisor to Governor Gaylord Nelson.

In his later years, he conceived the idea of a gift to the community that had meant so much to him. His idea was to create a place where the people of Door County, its artists and its visitors, could see and learn about modern and contemporary art. To that end, he left a large bequest that led to the creation of the Fairfield Center for Contemporary Art in the fall of 1998.

During his years at Harvard, in Washington as an investigative reporter, and in Europe as a Fullbright scholar, Fairfield's interest in modern art gradually matured. It's chief focus became the work of Henry Moore - "the sculptor of the century" according to Newsweek magazine. The artistic core of Fairfield's bequest is his remarkable collection of Henry Moore's prints and maquettes which are now a part of the permanent collection of the Fairfield Center for Contemporary Art.

The remainder of Fairfield's generous gift to the people of Door County was used to purchase and renovate the historic building at Third and Michigan Streets in Sturgeon Bay that now houses the Center on three floors plus a lower-level retail store, and to support the initial operation of the museum until it could afford to support itself.

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