September 2009 Museum News
William Thorsell to Retire as Head of ROM
By STAN PARCHIN
September 24, 2009
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| William Thorsell. Photography courtesy of Royal Ontario Museum. |
William Thorsell will retire after 10 years as Director and Chief Executive Officer of the
Royal Ontario Museum in August 2010. The ROM's Board of Trustees will use an executive search firm to help it find a suitable successor in the months ahead.
Prior to his position at the museum, Thorsell worked at Princeton University, the University of Alberta and the World Expositions in Montreal (1967) and Osaka, Japan (1970). He served as an editorialist and reviewer for
The Globe and Mail and
Edmonton Journal for 14 years before he assumed the post of Editor-in-Chief at the
G&M from 1989 to 1999.
Thorsell led Renaissance ROM, the museum's $285 million rebuilding and expansion project, from its inception in 2001, during which time the campus' historic structures were renovated and the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal was erected. Twenty new permanent galleries and a Learning Centre were created.
A number of astonishing exhibitions (some controversial) appeared at the Royal Ontario Museum during Thorsell's tenure as Director, including:
The James Ossuary: James, Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus (2002-03);
Art Deco 1910-1939 (2003-04);
Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from The British Museum (2004);
Pearls: A Natural History (2004-05);
Ancient Peru Unearthed: Golden Treasures of a Lost Civilization (2007);
Mysteries of Ancient Ukraine: The Remarkable Trypilian Culture (5400-2700 B.C.) (2008-09); and
Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World (2009-09).
Four Senior Staff Appointments at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
By STAN PARCHIN
September 8, 2009
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| The Charles Englehard Court in The New American Wing (2009). Photograph courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
Thomas P. Campbell, Director of
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today four senior staff appointments.
Carrie Rebora Barratt is the new Associate Director of Collections and Administration, effective immediately. Most recently, she was the Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture and Manager of the Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art. In her latest capacity, she serves as the Director's project manager and liaison between Campbell and various departments, including curatorial, conservation and scientific research. She is also assisting in the creation of the Department of Media and Interpretation, responsible for the dissemination of information about the museum's collection in the building and online. Dr. Barratt organized a number of special exhibitions, among them
John Singleton Copley in America (1995-96),
Faces of a New Nation: 18th and Early 19th Century American Portraits from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009-10) and
American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life 1765-1915 (2009-10).
Keith Christiansen takes up the post of John-Pope Hennessy Chairman of European Paintings. The Jayne Wrightsman Curator of European Paintings since 1989, Dr. Christiansen now oversees the museum's collection of Old Master paintings, his department's staff and activities (acquisitions, research, publications and exhibitions). A prolific award-winning writer and Adjunct Professor at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, Christiansen organized numerous shows, including: The
Age of Caravaggio (1985);
Painting in Renaissance Siena: 1420-1500 (1988-89);
Andrea Mantegna (1992);
From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1998-99);
Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi (2001-2002);
El Greco (2003-2004),
From Filippo Lippi to Piero della Francesca: Fra Carnevale and the Making of a Renaissance Master (2005);
Poussin and Nature (2008); and
Michelangelo's First Painting (2009).
Sheila R. Canby, Curator of Islamic Art and Antiquities at the British Museum since 1991, becomes the Patti Cadby Birch Curator in Charge of Islamic Art at The Met on October 26, 2009. Her administrative responsibilities include the renovation and expansion of her department's galleries, scheduled for completion in Fall 2011. At the British Museum, the author of numerous publications recently organized the exhibition
Shah `Abbas: The Remaking of Iran (2009).
Peggy Fogelman assumes the position of Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chairman of Education on October 26, 2009. Currently the Director of Education and Interpretation at the Peabody Essex Museum, Ms. Fogelman's new duties involve overseeing The Met's extensive program of lectures, gallery talks, concerts, films, access coordination, grants and fellowships. She brings to The Met 20 years of work experience at the J. Paul Getty Museum.