Today at the Museum

Director's Welcome

It’s a privilege to start 2012 as the new Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art. 

I follow the able leadership of Interim Director Olivier Meslay, a colleague whom I first worked with when he was still at the Louvre. A superb curator, Olivier stepped into his role as Interim Director last year with great ability and agility. He not only kept the DMA in excellent shape administratively but brought us the highly successful exhibition on view through February 12, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. Less visible to the public was his highly effective administration of the whole Museum, keeping the financial, operational, and other programmatic priorities in balance with the help of a supportive Board of Trustees. I look forward to working closely with Olivier as I begin my new role.
 
A new year offers a chance to look back beyond the last few months and consider the distinguished history of professional leadership at the DMA over many years. I have known and befriended every director stretching back to Director Emeritus Harry S. Parker III (1974-87), along with Rick Brettell (1988–92), Jay Gates (1993-98), Jack Lane (1999-2008), and Bonnie Pitman (2008-11). Each of these talented predecessors left an indelible mark on this great museum, with accomplishments ranging from extensive collection growth, physical expansion, compelling programmatic adventures, pioneering scholarship, a fresh contemporary art focus, ascendancy as a home for museum education, and too many other dimensions to summarize.
 
It is with sincere humility and gratitude that I follow these friends and colleagues into the director’s office that they made such a wellspring of inspiration. I look forward to getting to know the talented staff, generous board, and engaged stakeholders from throughout North Texas and beyond, to build on the past achievements of this superb art museum. The DMA’s vision is to be an essential creative resource locally, nationally, and internationally, and I will do my best to advance that proposition.
 
This website offers many avenues into the vibrant offerings of the DMA, and I encourage you to use it to plan a visit or just learn more about our many facets, ranging from treasures in the collection to exhibitions, programs, compelling interviews, and educational innovations. There is much to discover both online and on-site, with more to come in the months ahead. If you have suggestions to share, you can offer these up by means of this website: DallasMuseumofArt.org/ContactUs/index.htm. I’m also on Twitter, at MaxAndersonUSA, and I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you at the Museum in the days to come.
 
Maxwell L. Anderson
The Eugene McDermott Director

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