Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center Gives Two 19th-Century Paintings to the Crocker Art Museum

STANFORD, CA.- The Cantor Arts Center has deaccessioned two 19th-century American paintings from its collection: Charles Christian Nahl’s Saturday Night in the Mines, 1856, and Crossing the Plains,1856. Both works are oil on canvas. Ownership of the paintings has been transferred to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. The Association of Art Museum Directors defines deaccessioning as “the process by which a work of art or other object . . . wholly or in part, is permanently removed from a [...]

AAMD and AAM Statement Regarding Pollock and University of Iowa Museum of Art

NEW YORK, NY.- In response to the recent call to sell Jackson Pollock’s Mural from the collection of The University of Iowa Museum of Art, the Association of Art Museum Directors and the American Association of Museums released the following joint statement: The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the American Association of Museums (AAM) are alarmed to learn of the recent proposal to sell the Jackson Pollock painting Mural to underwrite costs at The University of Iowa. Such [...]

Rutger’s Zimmerli Art Museum Returns Rare Renaissance Portrait to Rightful Owners

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ.- On Friday, January 14, 2011, the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University handed over a rare early 16th-century portrait by the German artist Hans Baldung Grien to Simon Goodman, the Los Angeles-based grandson of Friedrich and Louise Gutmann, Holocaust victims and previous owners of the painting. In a visit to the Zimmerli, Mr. Goodman accepted “Portrait of a Young Man” (1509) on behalf of the Gutmann/Goodman heirs. Since 1946, the Gutmann/Goodman family has been looking for this [...]

Peabody Essex Museum to Host Art Museum Libraries Symposium

SALEM, MA.- Libraries, archives, and museums face similar challenges. Libraries and archives affiliated with art museums have a second layer of concerns to consider in determining how they best relate to their parent institution. The Peabody Essex Museum‘s (PEM) Phillips Library will host a symposium on September 23 and 24, 2010 to explore the issues associated with this very question.Major topics to be addressed include: • The Role of the Library and Archives in an Art Museum • Data Unity [...]

Thousands of Museums in Europe Celebrate Night of the Museums with Extended Hours

International Museum Day was created in 1977 by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Its aim is to make the general public aware of how important museums are in developing society. Museums for social harmony This year, the theme of International Museum Day is “Museums for social harmony”. Harmony is a concept significant for both Humanity and for representing Eastern cultures. The basis of social harmony lies in dialogue, tolerance, coexistence and development, based on pluralism, difference, competition and creativity. [...]

AAMD Museums Join in Celebration of International Museum Day on May 18th

NEW YORK, NY.- The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) announced today that member institutions will be participating in International Museum Day on May 18, 2010 by offering free or reduced admission, special programs, or other initiatives as part of their celebrations. AAMD member museums—located across the United States, Canada, and Mexico—include smaller regional museums as well as leading international institutions. International Museum Day is organized annually around the world by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). AAMD participation will [...]

Miami Art Museum Names John Wetenhall Interim Director

MIAMI, FL.- The Board of Trustees of Miami Art Museum announced the appointment of John Wetenhall as the museum’s interim director while it undertakes a search for the next director of the institution. Wetenhall will officially start on January 4, 2010, and will oversee the day-to-day operations of the museum and planning for its new home in Museum Park. Wetenhall previously served for eight years as executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, FL [...]