Did you know that Thomas “Thom” Collins, was a native Philadelphian? I don’t know if that helped, but Collins–currently director of the Perez Art Museum in Miami, has just been named executive director and president of the Barnes Foundation there. He was there for five years–some of them turbulent.
But the record he posted there undoubtedly counted in Philadelphia. Here’s how it was described in the press release:
At PAMM, Mr. Collins oversaw construction of the new Herzog & de Meuron-designed building located in downtown Miami, which opened to great acclaim in December 2013. During his tenure, the museum achieved an overwhelming increase in membership, annual giving, attendance, and major gifts, published important exhibition and collection catalogs, added significant works of art to the collection, and began in-house production of critical new digital education tools.
I don’t know Collins and haven’t been following him in a while, though I tend to think of him as more of a contemporary art person than a good fit for the Barnes. so I don’t really have any comment, for now.