Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Curator at the Dallas Museum of Art announces plans to leave

By Pegasus News wire

The board of trustees of The Phillips Collection announced today the appointment of Dr. Dorothy Kosinski, senior curator of painting and sculpture at the Dallas Museum of Art, as the museum’s new director. Dr. Kosinski assumes her post in spring 2008 and succeeds Jay Gates, who announced his retirement in June 2007.

“Dorothy Kosinski, with her very impressive credentials, represents an ambitious choice on the part of The Phillips Collection,” says George Vradenburg, chairman of the board of trustees. “We believe we have found an inspiring and passionate leader for the

Phillips, as we move into the next phase of our development. She is an insightful curator and a capable administrator, whose vision is rooted in the institution’s traditions but open to the new realities of the art of the 21st century.”

“I am thrilled to have been selected as the next director of The Phillips Collection," says Dr. Kosinski. "I have long admired Duncan Phillips’s extraordinary record as a collector of modern art and his deep commitment to contemporary artists. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to build on this remarkable legacy by igniting meaningful dialogues with the artists and art of our times. I look forward to working with the museum's staff and trustees in taking this important cultural institution to new heights.”

Dr. Kosinski joins the Phillips at a pivotal time in its history. The board of trustees and staff recently adopted a five-year strategic plan that outlines the museum’s programmatic and financial priorities. Key to securing the museum’s long-term financial stability will be a significant endowment. Other goals include maintaining a dynamic program of exhibitions and educational outreach, building on the work of The Phillips Collection Center for the Study of Modern Art, enhancing the museum’s opportunities to add important works to the permanent collection, and making use of the latest technology.

Dr. Kosinski brings to the Phillips significant experience as a museum professional and scholar. At the Dallas Museum of Art, where she has worked since 1995, Kosinski has organized internationally acclaimed exhibitions, contributed to their catalogues, and overseen a dynamic acquisitions program. Most recently, she has co- organized Matisse: Painter as Sculptor, which marks the first American museum exhibition in 20 years to examine the artist’s achievement in sculpture. While at the Dallas Museum of Art, she has worked on more than 20 exhibitions, including Henry Moore: Sculpting the Twentieth Century; Dialogues: Duchamp, Cornell, Johns, Rauchenberg; and The Artist and the Camera: Degas to Picasso. In addition, Dr. Kosinski has devoted considerable attention to strengthening the museum’s European collection of 18th, 19th, and 20th century art. During her tenure as department head, the

museum acquired a range of works spanning several centuries, including Eugène Delacroix’s celebrated portrait, Woman in a Turban, and a major still-life painting from 1924 by Henri Matisse.

Prior to working at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dr. Kosinski served as an independent curator for the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, the Kunstmuseum Basel, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, organizing three major international loan exhibitions on Fernand Léger, František Kupka, and collectors of impressionism. In 2004, she participated in the renowned Getty Museum Leadership Institute, a rigorous professional development program for museum executives.

Dr. Kosinski has lectured and published widely. Her writing has appeared in numerous catalogues and books, as well as many art magazines. She regularly participates in scholarly lectures and has extensive teaching experience at the university level, including the University of Texas, Dallas; University of Basel; and New York University, among others. Dr. Kosinski received a M.A. and a Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University in 1977 and 1985 respectively, and a B.A. from Yale University in 1974.

“Dorothy Kosinski brings extraordinary training and experience to this museum at a crucial moment,” says Jay Gates. “With the facilities that are now available to us, a person of her vision, with a perfect artistic fit to this institution, is a wonderful choice.”

Over the course of its 86-year history, The Phillips Collection has had only five directors. When Duncan Phillips died in 1966, his wife, Marjorie, succeeded him as museum director. Their son, Laughlin Phillips, became director in 1972. He led the Phillips through a multi-year program to restore and enlarge the museum buildings, conserve its priceless works of art, expand and professionalize the staff, conduct more research on the collection, and make it more accessible to the public. In 1992, he transferred directorship of the museum to Charles S. Moffett. A noted author and curator, Moffett was directly involved with the presentation of several elegant and imaginative exhibitions during his six-year tenure, including the celebrated Impressionists on the Seine: A Celebration of Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party,” in 1996. Jay Gates assumed leadership in 1998. Under his direction, The Phillips Collection has continued to grow and broaden its presence in Washington, D.C., across the country and internationally. He supervised a major building project, completed in April 2006, which doubled the size of the museum with the state-of-the-art Sant Building and brought into being the Center for the Study of Modern Art.

Tease Photo under Creative Commons license from Flickr user Kent Wang. Source: The Phillips Collection

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