Martha Shipman Andrews

Class of 1968

A Message from Connie O'Dea

Martha was an art history major, which a special interest in Asian Art.  She met  Mark Andrews through Susie Andrews '69, also at Freeman (perhaps you've already heard from Susie); obtained her MLS from Harvard's Library School while Mark was completing his degree at Harvard Law.  They married and moved to Washington DC  afterward.  Martha worked at the Smithsonian Institution in American Art, becoming the Director of the Smithsonian's American Art Collection.  (Martha followed in her father’s footsteps as a curator. Her father was the director (1945-1974) of the Linda Hall Library, a research facility dedicated to science, engineering and technology, in Kansas City, Martha's home town).

Martha and Mark moved to Great Falls, Va, in the 1970s and had two children:  Eliza, and then Jonathan.  She (and Eliza) became very interested in the American Southwest, so it was not a surprise to learn, after we'd fallen out of touch, that she had moved out there.  If you look online (I've lost the reference), once out in New Mexico she put her curatorial and librarian skills to work by organizing the state's archives and held the appropriate office and title.  When I looked her up online, I found a newletter featuring her, with a lovely photo of her, and mentioning her accomplishments for the state of New Mexico.  She had also accomplished quite a bit for the Smithsonian in DC before that.

I am extremely sorry to hear that she has died.  Martha was such a vibrant person, excellent scholar, and wonderful hostess, it is hard to imagine her not here anymore.  My condolences to her family.

Connie O'Dea

Martha's obituary can be found at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/martha-andrews-obituary?id=55886450