New Leaders at Four American Arts Institutions
By STAN PARCHIN
May 24, 2011
Four premiere American arts institutions announced major administrative
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| James C. Cuno. Photograph provided by the J. Paul Getty Museum. |
changes in rapid succession during May 2011.
James C. Cuno, President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the
Art Institute of Chicago since 2004, becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of the J. Paul Getty Trust on August 1, 2011. Dr. Cuno received his B.A. in History from Williamette University (1973), an M.A. in the History of Art from the University of Oregon (1978) and his A.M. and Ph.D. in the same discipline from Harvard University (1980 and 1985, respectively). An accomplished art museum director and lecturer on cultural patrimony, he's the author of
Who Owns Antiquity? (2009) and
Museums Matter: In Praise of the Encyclopedic Museum (2011).
The Getty Museum and Villa continue to lack a director.
Michael Brand, the affable Australian authority on Indian art and architecture who’s revered for his adroit diplomacy in repatriating 40 antiquities of spurious
provenance (ownership history) to Italy, vacated his prestigious position in January 2010. Hopefully, Dr. Cuno will find a suitable replacement quickly. Brand, who introduced non-Western art to the Getty Museum's program of special exhibitions, has proven to be a tough act of follow.
Daniel Brodsky succeeds James R. Houghton as Chairman of The Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2011. A University of Pennsylvania graduate with a degree in Urban Planning from New York University (1968), the Manhattan property developer's relationship with the Met began when he joined its Real Estate Council in 1984. An avid arts supporter, Mr. Brodsky oversees two of the museum's special Trustees committees. One negotiates with the Whitney Museum of American Art for the Met's intended use of the latter institution’s Madison Avenue building designed by Marcel Breuer. The other involves the planned renovation of the museum's Fifth Avenue plaza and fountains.
Ian Wardropper, Chairman of the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, revealed that he's replacing
Anne L. Poulet as Director of the nearby
Frick Collection, effective October 3, 2011. Having studied at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, the able administrator's curatorial experience includes positions at the Art Institute of Chicago. Wardropper, a French Renaissance sculpture expert, plans to enhance Dr. Poulet's well-received expansion of the museum's Web site, recorded tours and educational programs.
Karol Wight, Senior Curator of Antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum, is leaving its world-renowned Villa in Malibu, California after 26 years to become Executive Director of New York's Corning Museum of Glass, beginning August 15, 2011. The Roman glass specialist and CMG Fellow received her Ph.D. in Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles (1991). Dr. Wight managed the Getty Villa's $275 million renovation, expansion and reinstallation (completed in January 2006). She organized several special exhibitions, among them
Athletes in Antiquity: Works from the Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum (2002),
Molten Color: Glass Making in Antiquity (2006) and
Reflecting Antiquity: Modern Glass Inspired by Ancient Rome (2007). Most importantly, Wight oversaw the Getty Museum's recent revision of its acquisition policies regarding ancient art.
In related news,
Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of
Vogue magazine since 1988, was named an Elective Trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 10, 2011. Founder of
Teen Vogue (2001), Wintour has secured millions of dollars for the Met's Costume Institute. Her fundraising efforts culminate in the museum's
Party of the Year, a celebrity-studded event made chic by the late Diana Vreeland (the department's Consultative Chairperson known for groundbreaking fashion displays accented by perfume piped profusely through the galleries' air ducts).
Special thanks to Julie Nicolas for her timely contributions to this article.