Popular Kennedy School Asst. Dean Dies at 66

Marjorie S. Lucker, an assistant dean and registrar during her 14 years of service at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG), died last Friday. She was 66.

Suffering complications from lung cancer, Lucker died at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

At a memorial service on Sunday, Lucker's colleagues, friends and family said people turned to her with their problems, questions and concerns and always received wise and ethical advice.

"I don't need to tell you what a wonderful person Marge was," said Edith M. Stokey, recently retired associate academic dean and Lucker's tennis partner. "All of our presence here today is a testimonial to that."

More than 250 people attended the service in the ARCO Forum, and eight of Lucker's colleagues, friends and family spoke. The KSG intends to hold a second service in the fall.

Merilee S. Grindle, Mason professor of international development, spoke of the KSG's dependence on Lucker's wisdom, which she said was epitomized by the frequency with which the phrase "Ask Marge" was heard around the school.

"I confess to being a committed ask-Marger," she said.

Friends also spoke of Lucker's love of music. She sang and played the piano and had served on the Board of Directors of John Oliver Choral and was a member of the Follen Church Choir.

Lucker started her career in academic administration at Princeton University and continued at MIT. She began at the KSG in 1983 and was promoted to Assistant Dean in 1984. In 1990, her responsibilities were expanded to include student services.

A native of Bronx, N.Y., she graduated from Brooklyn College in 1952.

Lucker is survived by her husband of 45 years, Jay; their daughters, Amy Lucker of Arlington, Mass. and Nancy Lucker Lazerson and son-in-law Joshua Lazerson of Encinitas, Calif.; and her sister, Helen Stern-Richter of New York City.

The family has requested that instead of flowers, contributions be made to the KSG in memory of Lucker toward the creation of a student fellowship fund. Checks may be sent directly to the school.

Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, whose still-life painting of a wine bottle and cheese has been questioned by Dorn, was also skeptical.

"These works have been declared fakes on the basis of very shaky provenance. They should not be a reason to put a question mark against them," said Sjraar van Heugpen, curator of paintings and drawings. "You have to do a lot more research, both stylistically and technically, before you can say that."

When asked if declaring that someone other than Van Gogh painted "Three Pairs of Shoes" would reduce its importance, Kianovsky said "That's a philosophical question."

But museum patrons on Wednesday said such a revelation would be severe.

"I think it would be awful if it was a fake," said Karen E. Marlatt. "I wouldn't appreciate it as much, and I think you count on the integrity of the curators of the museum to make sure they're not [fakes]."

Others said--if it is a fake--they admire the charlatan's agility.

"If it looks like a Van Gogh, they did a very good job and it's art," said Meaghan F. Corwin, a 17-year-old summer school student. "If they're trying to pass it off as a Van Gogh, they should get a slap on the wrist but, if it looks real, they did a good job and deserve a pat on the back."

Van Gogh, who was one of the leaders of the Post-Impressionist movement, produced an estimated 900 paintings and 1,200 drawings.

The article said the difficulty authenticating a Van Gogh is caused by a lack of sales records from the artist's lifetime. Van Gogh sold virtually nothing during his life, and only in the decades after his death did the popularity of his works soar.

"By the 1920s the price of his work was already high, and this was actually the period when most of the Van Gogh pictures which have been questioned now emerged and came onto the market," Bailey said.

The article added that "greedy fakers were helped by the publication of Van Gogh's diaries, in which they could read the artist's descriptions of work-in-progress which they could then counterfeit."

--Sarah E. Endsley and Sarah A. Merriman contributed to the reporting of this story. Material from The Associated Press was used in compiling this report.

The family has requested that instead of flowers, contributions be made to the KSG in memory of Lucker toward the creation of a student fellowship fund. Checks may be sent directly to the school.

Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, whose still-life painting of a wine bottle and cheese has been questioned by Dorn, was also skeptical.

"These works have been declared fakes on the basis of very shaky provenance. They should not be a reason to put a question mark against them," said Sjraar van Heugpen, curator of paintings and drawings. "You have to do a lot more research, both stylistically and technically, before you can say that."

When asked if declaring that someone other than Van Gogh painted "Three Pairs of Shoes" would reduce its importance, Kianovsky said "That's a philosophical question."

But museum patrons on Wednesday said such a revelation would be severe.

"I think it would be awful if it was a fake," said Karen E. Marlatt. "I wouldn't appreciate it as much, and I think you count on the integrity of the curators of the museum to make sure they're not [fakes]."

Others said--if it is a fake--they admire the charlatan's agility.

"If it looks like a Van Gogh, they did a very good job and it's art," said Meaghan F. Corwin, a 17-year-old summer school student. "If they're trying to pass it off as a Van Gogh, they should get a slap on the wrist but, if it looks real, they did a good job and deserve a pat on the back."

Van Gogh, who was one of the leaders of the Post-Impressionist movement, produced an estimated 900 paintings and 1,200 drawings.

The article said the difficulty authenticating a Van Gogh is caused by a lack of sales records from the artist's lifetime. Van Gogh sold virtually nothing during his life, and only in the decades after his death did the popularity of his works soar.

"By the 1920s the price of his work was already high, and this was actually the period when most of the Van Gogh pictures which have been questioned now emerged and came onto the market," Bailey said.

The article added that "greedy fakers were helped by the publication of Van Gogh's diaries, in which they could read the artist's descriptions of work-in-progress which they could then counterfeit."

--Sarah E. Endsley and Sarah A. Merriman contributed to the reporting of this story. Material from The Associated Press was used in compiling this report.