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Judith H. Dobrzynski on Culture

Two New Directors: One In Chicago, One on Upper Fifth – UPDATED

DDruick.bmpThe Art Institute of Chicago just announced that it has chosen Douglas Druick (left) as its next director, succeeding Jim Cuno, who left in June to head the Getty Trust. He has been serving as acting director since then then.

Druick is well-known and well-respected, and not a surprise.

As the press release recounts:

During his tenure at the Art Institute, Druick has conceived and organized or contributed to some of the most significant exhibitions in the museum’s history. These exhibitions include Degas (1988); Odilon Redon: Prince of Dreams, 1840-1916 (1994); Gustave Caillebotte: Urban Impressionist (1994); Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South (2001); Manet and the Sea (2003); Seurat and the Making of La Grande Jatte (2004); Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre (2005); Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde (2006); and, in contemporary art, Jasper Johns: Gray (2007). Three of these exhibitions, Seurat and the Making of La Grande Jatte, Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre, and Jasper Johns: Gray, were named outstanding exhibitions by the Association of Art Museum Curators, and Jasper Johns: Gray was also named “Best Monographic Museum Show Nationally” by the American section of the International Art Critics Association.

That is a mighty impressive curatorial record. I hope he can make the switch to being a director, which is a different thing. The only trouble I see is that he is 66. That means he will be a transition director, unlikely to stay past, what, four years?

The announcement follows the news that the Jewish Museum has appointed Claudia Gould to succeed Joan Rosenbaum. Details here. Gould goes to the Jewish Museum from Philadelphia, where she was director of the Institute for Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania. She says she’ll take the JM in a more contemporary direction.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Druick said his priorities involve exhibition planning and marketing, followed by a search for a new education director:

Among the priorities, Druick said, is a closer look at the way in which the museum plans and executes exhibitions, from subject matter to timing throughout the year. Also active is a search for a new head of marketing, following the quiet July dismissal of Carrie Heinonen, the museum’s vice president of marketing and public affairs.

…Druick mentioned his third priority as replacing the museum’s departed director of education, Robert Eskridge, who retired in June. The challenge in a new director of education, Druick said, is to think about how people learn now as opposed to 20 to 30 years ago, emphasizing the role of technology and how the museum might position itself to attract the next generation of art enthusiasts.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Art Institute

 

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About Judith H. Dobrzynski

Now an independent journalist, I've worked as a reporter in the culture and business sections of The New York Times, and been the editor of the Sunday business section and deputy business editor there as well as a senior editor of Business Week and the managing editor of CNBC, the cable TV

About Real Clear Arts

This blog is about culture in America as seen through my lens, which is informed and colored by years of reporting not only on the arts and humanities, but also on business, philanthropy, science, government and other subjects. I may break news, but more likely I will comment, provide

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