For Immediate Release: July 21, 2005
Contacts: Anne-Marie Wagener, Director of External Affairs, (612) 870-3280; Lynette Nyman, P.R. Manager, (612) 870-3173; Tammy Pleshek, P.R. Specialist, (612) 870-3171
WILLIAM M. GRISWOLD APPOINTED NEW DIRECTOR
OF THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS
Minneapolis—The Board of Trustees of The Minneapolis Institute of Art announced July 21, 2005 the appointment of William M. Griswold as the Director and President of the museum. Griswold will begin his position October 1. His selection followed a national five-month search led a by a fifteen-person Search Committee established by the museum’s Board of Trustees.
Since 2004, Griswold has served as the Acting Director and Chief Curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum and brings twenty-four years of museum experience to The Minneapolis Institute of Art. Griswold succeeds Dr. Evan Maurer, who retired in February 2005 due to health problems.
“We are extremely pleased to confirm Bill’s appointment as the Director and President of The Minneapolis Institute of Art. He is a highly skilled arts administrator and scholar who has done a great job at the Getty over the past several years,” said Alfred Harrison, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
“Our Search Committee conducted a very thorough and rigorous national search. We feel confident that Bill is the best candidate for the job and I and the full Board look forward to working with him,” added Harrison.
As Associate Director for Collections at the Getty, Griswold was responsible for the museum’s curatorial, conservation, exhibition, and education departments. Since becoming Acting Director, he has overseen the continued growth of the collection, including the recent gift of the Stark Collection of twentieth–century outdoor sculpture.
“This is an exciting time of growth at The Minneapolis Institute of Art and I am delighted and honored to have the opportunity to lead the museum into a new era,” said Griswold. “The MIA has a strong commitment to the community and is one of the nation’s few museums that still has a free general admission policy, which I will maintain. With the excellent schedule of upcoming exhibitions, our increasing focus on new acquisitions, and our developing plans for the exciting new addition by Michael Graves, we are poised to strengthen our position as one of the finest encyclopedic museums in the nation.”
Search Committee Chair Brian Palmer added: “In this search process of considering exceptional applicants in a national search, Bill emerged as the strongest candidate. His experience, expertise and professionalism helped lead us to this choice. ”
Prior to his appointment of Acting Director and Chief Curator at the Getty, Griswold was the Associate Director for Collections. He has also held positions as the Charles W. Engelhard Curator and Head of the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Pierpont Morgan Library, and Associate Curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Griswold received a bachelor’s degree in Art History, with honors, from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and a Ph.D. from The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, where he now serves on the board.
About The Minneapolis Institute of Art
Ranked among the top ten comprehensive U.S. art museums, The Minneapolis Institute of Art is dedicated to bringing art to life for everyone. Located in a beautiful landmark building near downtown Minneapolis, the museum houses approximately 100,000 works of art, representing more than 5,000 years of world history. General admission is always free. Some special exhibitions have a nominal admission fee. Museum Hours: Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Closed Monday. Please allow plenty of time to park, as construction of our exciting expansion project is under way. For additional information, call (612) 870-3131 or visit www.artsmia.org.
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