American Folk Art Museum
News
The building is not the Museum! The Museum is not the building!
April 11, 2013
The building is not the Museum! The Museum is not the building!
The American Folk Art Museum is grateful for the attention and support of our friends, loyal followers, and those who are checking us out in light of recent news. MoMA’s decision to tear down the former home of the American Folk Art Museum has resulted in a number of articles, some of which have implied that the American Folk Art Museum itself is being demolished. This could not be further from the truth!
Thanks to the generous support of Joyce Cowin and other trustees and supporters, the American Folk Art Museum has an energetic, creative, and vibrant future. We remain grateful for the purchase of the building by our good neighbor, the Museum of Modern Art; the sale of the building was a necessary step for our resurgence. We are also deeply sympathetic to our friends Billie Tsien and Tod Williams as they face the destruction of a building of which we were all proud. The American Folk Art Museum, however, lives on! We are actively achieving our mission through exhibitions and programs at our Lincoln Square location and other venues throughout the city, the country, and the world.
For a balanced view of the Museum’s situation and prospects, please continue to browse this website as well as Robin Pogrebin’s April 2 article in the New York Times.
To see just how vibrant we are, we invite you to visit the Museum tomorrow, at 2 Lincoln Square, and to stay for the liveliness of our weekly Free Music Fridays program.
Thank you all for your attention and support.
The Board of Trustees and staff of the American Folk Art Museum
The building is not the Museum! The Museum is not the building!
The American Folk Art Museum is grateful for the attention and support of our friends, loyal followers, and those who are checking us out in light of recent news. MoMA’s decision to tear down the former home of the American Folk Art Museum has resulted in a number of articles, some of which have implied that the American Folk Art Museum itself is being demolished. This could not be further from the truth!
Thanks to the generous support of Joyce Cowin and other trustees and supporters, the American Folk Art Museum has an energetic, creative, and vibrant future. We remain grateful for the purchase of the building by our good neighbor, the Museum of Modern Art; the sale of the building was a necessary step for our resurgence. We are also deeply sympathetic to our friends Billie Tsien and Tod Williams as they face the destruction of a building of which we were all proud. The American Folk Art Museum, however, lives on! We are actively achieving our mission through exhibitions and programs at our Lincoln Square location and other venues throughout the city, the country, and the world.
For a balanced view of the Museum’s situation and prospects, please continue to browse this website as well as Robin Pogrebin’s April 2 article in the New York Times.
To see just how vibrant we are, we invite you to visit the Museum tomorrow, at 2 Lincoln Square, and to stay for the liveliness of our weekly Free Music Fridays program.
Thank you all for your attention and support.
The Board of Trustees and staff of the American Folk Art Museum
Valérie Rousseau Appointed Curator of 20th-Century and Contemporary Art
January 16, 2013
Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, Executive Director, today announced the appointment of Dr. Valérie Rousseau as Curator of 20th-Century and Contemporary Art, responsible for continuing and expanding the Museum’s initiatives in the field of art created by the self-taught, associated with folk art and art brut. This will include planning exhibitions; expanding the collection; research; organizing public programs and scholarly symposia; advising on the Museum’s other education initiatives (school and family programs); and writing exhibition catalogs. She will work closely with Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander.
Dr. Radice commented, “We are pleased that Valérie is joining the staff of the American Folk Art Museum. Dr. Rousseau is a significant voice in the field, with more than fifteen years of academic and professional experience. Her incisive and refined approach to folk art in its many forms, as well as her scholarly focus on the history of self-taught artists as a discipline within the larger field of art—whether on the university level or within the art community—makes her ideally qualified. As the director of a variety of projects, including exhibitions, publications, and symposia, she has brought to light significant learning in this still burgeoning and fertile area. And even more, she brings a truly global perspective to the discipline.”
Dr. Rousseau will begin her work with the Museum on February 14, 2013. Born in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli (Québec), Canada, she has conducted several studies and projects in this art field, both in North America and abroad, in collaboration with many organizations and museums. In recent years, she acted as an independent curator and scholar, as well as the program director at the Outsider Art Fair (2012 and 2013).
She has organized exhibitions and written catalogs for a number of institutions and galleries on such artists and topics as A.C.M, James Castle, Henry Darger, Guo Fengyi, Sava Sekulić, Charles Steffen, Stas Volyazlovsky, Soviet TASS propaganda posters, and the recent exhibition “Collectors of Skies,” featuring the work of Janko Domsic, Victor Hugo, Zdenek Kosek, Vik Muniz, Dorothy Napangardi, and Achilles G. Rizzoli. Rousseau also organized the traveling exhibition “Richard Greaves: Anarchitect,” which was presented in Lausanne at the Collection de l’Art Brut, as well as “Bill Anhang” at the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, Montréal, and “Papa Sorgente and the Great Antonio” at the Darling Foundry, Montréal.
Dr. Rousseau lectures internationally and is the author of numerous catalogs, essays, and articles. Of particular note is Vestiges de l’Indiscipline: Environnements d’Art and Anarchitectures, published by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau.
In 1998 Rousseau cofounded the Société des arts indisciplinés (SAI), Montréal, the first Canadian organization devoted to documenting, studying, and presenting the works of self-taught artists. She served as director and curator until 2007. There she established significant archives on the topic.
Rousseau was awarded her PhD in art history at the Université du Québec à Montréal, in 2012. Her PhD studies also included seminars at La Sorbonne-Université Paris 1. There she examined the concept of folk art and institutional theories of art. She received a masters in cultural anthropology at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris, France) in 2007, working on artists’ personal museums and the art brut collection of Jean Dubuffet. In 1998, she received a second masters, in art theory, at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Dr. Rousseau is an affiliated researcher at the LAHIC (iiAC-CNRS, Paris) and serves on the International Committee of the College Art Association.
Dr. Rousseau noted: “The American Folk Art Museum has championed the works of self-taught artists with a constant and impressively high standard of programs. A significant presence in the field, the Museum was the first in the U.S. to devote itself solely to folk art. Its unique, rich, and comprehensive collection spans three centuries of visual expression and creativity by the self-taught and those often considered on the “outside.” The personal and often idiosyncratic visions of a number of the artists are compelling and challenge our view of art in our time. I am very excited to join the team of this historical and seminal institution, and to contribute to the excellence and specialization in the collection, research, and exhibition of these works.”
Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, Executive Director, today announced the appointment of Dr. Valérie Rousseau as Curator of 20th-Century and Contemporary Art, responsible for continuing and expanding the Museum’s initiatives in the field of art created by the self-taught, associated with folk art and art brut. This will include planning exhibitions; expanding the collection; research; organizing public programs and scholarly symposia; advising on the Museum’s other education initiatives (school and family programs); and writing exhibition catalogs. She will work closely with Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander.
Dr. Radice commented, “We are pleased that Valérie is joining the staff of the American Folk Art Museum. Dr. Rousseau is a significant voice in the field, with more than fifteen years of academic and professional experience. Her incisive and refined approach to folk art in its many forms, as well as her scholarly focus on the history of self-taught artists as a discipline within the larger field of art—whether on the university level or within the art community—makes her ideally qualified. As the director of a variety of projects, including exhibitions, publications, and symposia, she has brought to light significant learning in this still burgeoning and fertile area. And even more, she brings a truly global perspective to the discipline.”
Dr. Rousseau will begin her work with the Museum on February 14, 2013. Born in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli (Québec), Canada, she has conducted several studies and projects in this art field, both in North America and abroad, in collaboration with many organizations and museums. In recent years, she acted as an independent curator and scholar, as well as the program director at the Outsider Art Fair (2012 and 2013).
She has organized exhibitions and written catalogs for a number of institutions and galleries on such artists and topics as A.C.M, James Castle, Henry Darger, Guo Fengyi, Sava Sekulić, Charles Steffen, Stas Volyazlovsky, Soviet TASS propaganda posters, and the recent exhibition “Collectors of Skies,” featuring the work of Janko Domsic, Victor Hugo, Zdenek Kosek, Vik Muniz, Dorothy Napangardi, and Achilles G. Rizzoli. Rousseau also organized the traveling exhibition “Richard Greaves: Anarchitect,” which was presented in Lausanne at the Collection de l’Art Brut, as well as “Bill Anhang” at the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, Montréal, and “Papa Sorgente and the Great Antonio” at the Darling Foundry, Montréal.
Dr. Rousseau lectures internationally and is the author of numerous catalogs, essays, and articles. Of particular note is Vestiges de l’Indiscipline: Environnements d’Art and Anarchitectures, published by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau.
In 1998 Rousseau cofounded the Société des arts indisciplinés (SAI), Montréal, the first Canadian organization devoted to documenting, studying, and presenting the works of self-taught artists. She served as director and curator until 2007. There she established significant archives on the topic.
Rousseau was awarded her PhD in art history at the Université du Québec à Montréal, in 2012. Her PhD studies also included seminars at La Sorbonne-Université Paris 1. There she examined the concept of folk art and institutional theories of art. She received a masters in cultural anthropology at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris, France) in 2007, working on artists’ personal museums and the art brut collection of Jean Dubuffet. In 1998, she received a second masters, in art theory, at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Dr. Rousseau is an affiliated researcher at the LAHIC (iiAC-CNRS, Paris) and serves on the International Committee of the College Art Association.
Dr. Rousseau noted: “The American Folk Art Museum has championed the works of self-taught artists with a constant and impressively high standard of programs. A significant presence in the field, the Museum was the first in the U.S. to devote itself solely to folk art. Its unique, rich, and comprehensive collection spans three centuries of visual expression and creativity by the self-taught and those often considered on the “outside.” The personal and often idiosyncratic visions of a number of the artists are compelling and challenge our view of art in our time. I am very excited to join the team of this historical and seminal institution, and to contribute to the excellence and specialization in the collection, research, and exhibition of these works.”
Anne-Imelda Radice Appointed Director
September 5, 2012
The Board of Trustees of the American Folk Art Museum today announced the appointment of Anne-Imelda Radice as its new director. Dr. Radice, a widely respected cultural sector veteran, brings to the position more than thirty-five years of experience as a leader and as an artistic visionary. In her career, she has served in various capacities including curator, museum director, government official, association director, and advisor for public and private cultural institutions. Her most recent government position was as Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, where she served in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
“We are incredibly excited to have Anne as our new director. She has deep experience and is widely admired in the field. We believe she is the ideal person to lead us,” said Monty Blanchard, President of the Board of Trustees. “This has been a dynamic and positive year for us at the Museum, and we are extremely fortunate to have found a leader of Anne’s quality to join us and to help us achieve the next level. As both an artistic voice and an administrative leader of cultural institutions, Anne has the vision and experience we need to propel us in our continued growth.”
“Having served as both a director and a curator, I have long been impressed with American Folk Art Museum’s collection and its presentation,” said Anne Radice. “The work the Board and staff have done to re-chart the Museum’s course has been gutsy and inspiring, and I am honored to join and have the responsibility of leading their team. I have tremendous respect for curator Stacy Hollander, who has one of the strongest curatorial visions in the field, and I look forward to working with the entire institution as we maintain our strong presence in New York City and expand our museum’s role as the preeminent voice of, and resource for, folk art and the contemporary art of the self-taught in the country.”
“Anne is a natural leader. She is willing to make bold decisions and has a genuine passion for the arts. All of this has made her an asset to the American museums community for more than thirty years,” said Ford W. Bell, president of the American Alliance of Museums (formerly the American Association of Museums). “Anne’s experience in Washington combined with her experience in the private sector give her a uniquely diverse background, and I have no doubt we will be hearing about how the institution is flourishing under her tenure for years to come.”
In addition to her work at IMLS, Dr. Radice’s experience includes serving as Acting Assistant Chairman for Programs at the Humanities Endowment and as the Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the United States Department of Education and Chief of the Creative arts Division of the United States Information Agency. Dr. Radice was also previously the first Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts; Curator of the U.S. Capitol, Office of the Architect of the U.S. Capitol; and Assistant Curator, National Gallery of Art. Dr. Radice holds a PhD from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MBA from The American University, an MA from Villa Schifanoia School of Fine Arts, Florence and an AB from Wheaton College. She currently serves on several boards, including those of the African Art Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Historic Gettysburg Foundation, the College Art Association, the Tom Lea Institute, and the Police Museum in New York City. Among her awards are the US Presidential Citizen’s Medal, the Forbes Medal, and the Heritage Preservation Award.
The American Folk Art Museum, anchored in New York City’s Lincoln Center neighborhood, is America’s premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of traditional folk art and creative expressions of contemporary self-taught artists from the United States and abroad. The Museum boasts a comprehensive collection of folk art dating from the eighteenth century to the present, and collaborates with other museums to expand its reach across the country.
Anne-Imelda Radice, PhD, has more than thirty-five years of expertise in the cultural and non-profit worlds as a curator, administrator, and director. Prior to her appointment as Director of the American Folk Art Museum, she served as a principal in an international public affairs company and later advised private clients (museums, universities, foundations, and other charities) on a variety of strategic matters.
Radice served as the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the largest federal cultural agency (18,000 museums and 123,000 libraries), where she was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2005 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2006. During her tenure, IMLS awarded grants totaling $1 billion dollars and received budget increases each year. At the Institute, she created and provided leadership for ‘Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action,’ a national conservation initiative designed to raise public awareness. The initiative included a National Summit, four forums on conservation across the country, the distribution of three thousand Conservation Bookshelves, collaborative state planning grants, and a resource laden website and international component.
Radice forged partnerships with the National Endowment for the Arts in The Big Read, an initiative designed to restore reading to the center of American culture, and with the National Endowment for the Humanities in Picturing America, an initiative that brings copies of masterpieces of American art into libraries and classrooms nationwide
Among the many honors she has been awarded, Radice received the Forbes Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the Field of Conservation from the American Institute of Historic and Artistic Works. In December 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Radice the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest honor that can be conferred on a civilian, in recognition of her exemplary service to the nation.
Prior to joining IMLS, Radice was the Acting Assistant Chairman for Programs at the Humanities Endowment; the Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the United States Department of Education; and Acting Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. She also served as Chief of the Creative arts Division of the United States Information Agency; Acting Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; the first Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts; and Curator of the U.S. Capitol, Office of the Architect of the U.S. Capitol; and Assistant Curator, National Gallery of Art.
She holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; an MBA from American University; and an AB from Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts. Radice also has an MA from the Villa Schifanoia in Florence, Italy. She has written and lectured widely on Italian architecture, painting, The United States Capitol, individual artists, conservation, exhibit design, and management.
She currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of The African Art Museum; Smithsonian Institution; Historic Gettysburg Foundation; The College Art Association; The Tom Lea Institute; and the Police Museum, New York City.
Contact:
Resnicow Schroeder Associates
• Julia Kirchhausen, 212. 671. 5161, jkirchhausen@resnicowschroeder.com
• Ariel Hudes, 212. 671. 5169, ahudes@resnicowschroeder.com
American Folk Art Museum
• Barbara Livenstein, 212. 265. 1040, ext. 113, blivenstein@folkartmuseum.org
The Board of Trustees of the American Folk Art Museum today announced the appointment of Anne-Imelda Radice as its new director. Dr. Radice, a widely respected cultural sector veteran, brings to the position more than thirty-five years of experience as a leader and as an artistic visionary. In her career, she has served in various capacities including curator, museum director, government official, association director, and advisor for public and private cultural institutions. Her most recent government position was as Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, where she served in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
“We are incredibly excited to have Anne as our new director. She has deep experience and is widely admired in the field. We believe she is the ideal person to lead us,” said Monty Blanchard, President of the Board of Trustees. “This has been a dynamic and positive year for us at the Museum, and we are extremely fortunate to have found a leader of Anne’s quality to join us and to help us achieve the next level. As both an artistic voice and an administrative leader of cultural institutions, Anne has the vision and experience we need to propel us in our continued growth.”
“Having served as both a director and a curator, I have long been impressed with American Folk Art Museum’s collection and its presentation,” said Anne Radice. “The work the Board and staff have done to re-chart the Museum’s course has been gutsy and inspiring, and I am honored to join and have the responsibility of leading their team. I have tremendous respect for curator Stacy Hollander, who has one of the strongest curatorial visions in the field, and I look forward to working with the entire institution as we maintain our strong presence in New York City and expand our museum’s role as the preeminent voice of, and resource for, folk art and the contemporary art of the self-taught in the country.”
“Anne is a natural leader. She is willing to make bold decisions and has a genuine passion for the arts. All of this has made her an asset to the American museums community for more than thirty years,” said Ford W. Bell, president of the American Alliance of Museums (formerly the American Association of Museums). “Anne’s experience in Washington combined with her experience in the private sector give her a uniquely diverse background, and I have no doubt we will be hearing about how the institution is flourishing under her tenure for years to come.”
In addition to her work at IMLS, Dr. Radice’s experience includes serving as Acting Assistant Chairman for Programs at the Humanities Endowment and as the Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the United States Department of Education and Chief of the Creative arts Division of the United States Information Agency. Dr. Radice was also previously the first Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts; Curator of the U.S. Capitol, Office of the Architect of the U.S. Capitol; and Assistant Curator, National Gallery of Art. Dr. Radice holds a PhD from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MBA from The American University, an MA from Villa Schifanoia School of Fine Arts, Florence and an AB from Wheaton College. She currently serves on several boards, including those of the African Art Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Historic Gettysburg Foundation, the College Art Association, the Tom Lea Institute, and the Police Museum in New York City. Among her awards are the US Presidential Citizen’s Medal, the Forbes Medal, and the Heritage Preservation Award.
The American Folk Art Museum, anchored in New York City’s Lincoln Center neighborhood, is America’s premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of traditional folk art and creative expressions of contemporary self-taught artists from the United States and abroad. The Museum boasts a comprehensive collection of folk art dating from the eighteenth century to the present, and collaborates with other museums to expand its reach across the country.
Anne-Imelda Radice, PhD, has more than thirty-five years of expertise in the cultural and non-profit worlds as a curator, administrator, and director. Prior to her appointment as Director of the American Folk Art Museum, she served as a principal in an international public affairs company and later advised private clients (museums, universities, foundations, and other charities) on a variety of strategic matters.
Radice served as the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the largest federal cultural agency (18,000 museums and 123,000 libraries), where she was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2005 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2006. During her tenure, IMLS awarded grants totaling $1 billion dollars and received budget increases each year. At the Institute, she created and provided leadership for ‘Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action,’ a national conservation initiative designed to raise public awareness. The initiative included a National Summit, four forums on conservation across the country, the distribution of three thousand Conservation Bookshelves, collaborative state planning grants, and a resource laden website and international component.
Radice forged partnerships with the National Endowment for the Arts in The Big Read, an initiative designed to restore reading to the center of American culture, and with the National Endowment for the Humanities in Picturing America, an initiative that brings copies of masterpieces of American art into libraries and classrooms nationwide
Among the many honors she has been awarded, Radice received the Forbes Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the Field of Conservation from the American Institute of Historic and Artistic Works. In December 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Radice the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest honor that can be conferred on a civilian, in recognition of her exemplary service to the nation.
Prior to joining IMLS, Radice was the Acting Assistant Chairman for Programs at the Humanities Endowment; the Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the United States Department of Education; and Acting Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. She also served as Chief of the Creative arts Division of the United States Information Agency; Acting Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; the first Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts; and Curator of the U.S. Capitol, Office of the Architect of the U.S. Capitol; and Assistant Curator, National Gallery of Art.
She holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; an MBA from American University; and an AB from Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts. Radice also has an MA from the Villa Schifanoia in Florence, Italy. She has written and lectured widely on Italian architecture, painting, The United States Capitol, individual artists, conservation, exhibit design, and management.
She currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of The African Art Museum; Smithsonian Institution; Historic Gettysburg Foundation; The College Art Association; The Tom Lea Institute; and the Police Museum, New York City.
Contact:
Resnicow Schroeder Associates
• Julia Kirchhausen, 212. 671. 5161, jkirchhausen@resnicowschroeder.com
• Ariel Hudes, 212. 671. 5169, ahudes@resnicowschroeder.com
American Folk Art Museum
• Barbara Livenstein, 212. 265. 1040, ext. 113, blivenstein@folkartmuseum.org
President’s Letter—Summer 2012
Dear Friends and Supporters of the American Folk Art Museum,
Friday, August 3, was a truly special day at the American Folk Art Museum! The day started with a great review in the New York Times of our exhibition Compass: Folk Art in Four Directions, currently on display at the South Street Seaport Museum in collaboration with the Museum of the City of New York. In that review, Roberta Smith characterized our institution as “modestly spreading its wings” in an “exuberant and wide-ranging” exhibition that reveals the “Museum’s collection to be one of New York City’s great treasures.”
That afternoon at Lincoln Square, we held the release party for the Museum’s first music CD, the “American Folk Art Museum presents Free Music Fridays, Volume 1.” Ten musicians or groups played for an audience of almost two hundred for over three hours in celebration of the Museum and its programs. It was a joyous evening! The CD was the brainchild of Lara Ewen, a former volunteer-turned-recent employee and impresario who is responsible for the Museum’s social media presence and manages our longstanding Free Music Fridays program. We are grateful to all the talented musicians who participate in this program, and especially to those who licensed their music. The CD is available in our Lincoln Square shop, and we are looking forward to “Volume 2” already!
In my introductory remarks for the party, I reflected on how the musical strains in our recent history have been many and varied. Obviously, our tradition is “folk,” although with some of our challenges over the past few years we have sometimes felt like singing “the blues.” And there were times when we also needed prayers and “hymns” (put in the religious music of your choice) of salvation. Fortunately, Joyce Cowin and certain other Museum trustees, friends, and staff stepped forward with support and dedication, and now we are in a position to “rock ‘n roll!” With what we’ve accomplished together, we should all “Dance! Dance! Dance!”
We are, of course, most proud of “Compass,” our exhibition that tells the story of New York’s long and rich seaport tradition through the creativity and vision of folk artists. It is significant that in addition to the artistic charm, relevance, and overall quality of the exhibition, “Compass” represents a collaboration with two other museums that enabled us to display nearly two hundred great pieces from our collection in a new venue for the presentation of our art. We are particularly grateful to the Ford Foundation (again), The Leir Charitable Foundations, the Danziger family, the Schwartz family, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Jackie Fowler, and the Daniel family for their financial support, without which this exhibition would not have been possible. We also want to thank Commissioner Kate Levin and New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, who were instrumental in bringing the three institutions together to realize this great exhibition.
There are many other, less visible developments at the Museum that are equally important in our ongoing revitalization:
We are pleased to announce that, as a result of a generous bequest from our former Trustee David L. Davies and the generosity of his partner, Jack Weeden, the Museum is the grateful recipient of more than $1 million, which we are establishing as the David Davies & Jack Weeden Fund for Exhibitions. This fund will be used to support future Museum exhibitions in our Lincoln Square galleries and elsewhere, and to help us develop traveling exhibitions that will help in our strategic mission of “getting the art out there.” A number of David and Jack's friends have also made pledges in support of this fund.
David was a wonderful friend to the Museum for many years, as a Trustee, as an important collector of folk art and donor of art to the Museum, and as a leading member of the Clarion Society. The Clarion Society was established to honor those who include the Museum in their estate plans. David's generosity reminds us all of the importance of bequests, which leave a legacy to ensure the Museum’s future. For more information about the Clarion Society, please contact Elizabeth Kingman at 212. 265. 1061, or ekingman@folkartmuseum.org.
I am also pleased to announce that the Museum has re-established its Collections Committee, and we have begun to accept or selectively acquire works into our collection. The most recent notable acquisition is a spectacular early 20th-century quilt made by Carl Klewicke (1835–1913), a German-born tailor living in Corning, New York. This tour de force—featuring horses, flags, birds, fountains, and other eye-dazzling motifs—first came to the Museum’s attention in the 1980s during the New York Quilt Project, a statewide quilt documentation effort spearheaded by the American Folk Art Museum. We are thrilled to include this quilt in our collection. The quilt was also featured on the cover of the July/August 2012 issue of The Magazine Antiques, which featured three stories on the American Folk Art Museum including an interview with our trustee, Elizabeth Warren.
We are deep in the process of finding a new Director, as we have mentioned before. The Search Committee has met with a number of strong candidates, and we are optimistic that before the next of these President’s letters we will be able to present a new Director to our community. At the same time we are also rebuilding some of our other institutional capabilities. Over the past couple of months, we have made the following staff additions in addition to Ms. Ewen: we have hired Barbara Livenstein, the former VP of Communications at the Museum of the City of New York as our Public Relations Manager and Karley Klopfenstein, an experienced development officer, as a grants writer. Please join me in welcoming Barbara, Karley, and Lara to the Museum, and don’t hesitate to introduce yourselves if you see them at the Museum.
On a slightly bittersweet note, I also want to recognize here the recent departure of our Acting Director and Chief Administrative Officer, Linda Dunne. The “bitter” is that I will miss working with her; with her energy and dedication to the health of the Museum and her willingness to “slog through” whatever it took to ensure that all aspects of the Museum’s operations functioned effectively and well, Linda made an irreplaceable contribution to the Museum’s stable and successful future in our new incarnation. The “sweet” is my joy for Linda in her finding her “dream” job as Director of Museum Services and Operations at the Rubin Museum of Art, which will give her more time for her husband and family while fully utilizing her extensive experience in museum operations. We wish her well.
We are going to have an exciting fall at the Museum. On September 12, we will open two shows, Foiled: Tinsel Painting in America, presenting more than two hundred examples of this shimmering early 19th-century technique, and Ooh, Shiny!, examining the shiny and reflective materials that have proven to be a persistent impulse in the visual arts. On October 18, we will hold our Glitter Gala fall benefit, and we hope to be in a position by that time to announce the hiring of our new Director. There is a lot for us to look forward to together!
As always, thank you for your past, present, and future support!
Warmly,
Monty Blanchard
President, Board of Trustees
Friday, August 3, was a truly special day at the American Folk Art Museum! The day started with a great review in the New York Times of our exhibition Compass: Folk Art in Four Directions, currently on display at the South Street Seaport Museum in collaboration with the Museum of the City of New York. In that review, Roberta Smith characterized our institution as “modestly spreading its wings” in an “exuberant and wide-ranging” exhibition that reveals the “Museum’s collection to be one of New York City’s great treasures.”
That afternoon at Lincoln Square, we held the release party for the Museum’s first music CD, the “American Folk Art Museum presents Free Music Fridays, Volume 1.” Ten musicians or groups played for an audience of almost two hundred for over three hours in celebration of the Museum and its programs. It was a joyous evening! The CD was the brainchild of Lara Ewen, a former volunteer-turned-recent employee and impresario who is responsible for the Museum’s social media presence and manages our longstanding Free Music Fridays program. We are grateful to all the talented musicians who participate in this program, and especially to those who licensed their music. The CD is available in our Lincoln Square shop, and we are looking forward to “Volume 2” already!
In my introductory remarks for the party, I reflected on how the musical strains in our recent history have been many and varied. Obviously, our tradition is “folk,” although with some of our challenges over the past few years we have sometimes felt like singing “the blues.” And there were times when we also needed prayers and “hymns” (put in the religious music of your choice) of salvation. Fortunately, Joyce Cowin and certain other Museum trustees, friends, and staff stepped forward with support and dedication, and now we are in a position to “rock ‘n roll!” With what we’ve accomplished together, we should all “Dance! Dance! Dance!”
We are, of course, most proud of “Compass,” our exhibition that tells the story of New York’s long and rich seaport tradition through the creativity and vision of folk artists. It is significant that in addition to the artistic charm, relevance, and overall quality of the exhibition, “Compass” represents a collaboration with two other museums that enabled us to display nearly two hundred great pieces from our collection in a new venue for the presentation of our art. We are particularly grateful to the Ford Foundation (again), The Leir Charitable Foundations, the Danziger family, the Schwartz family, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Jackie Fowler, and the Daniel family for their financial support, without which this exhibition would not have been possible. We also want to thank Commissioner Kate Levin and New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, who were instrumental in bringing the three institutions together to realize this great exhibition.
There are many other, less visible developments at the Museum that are equally important in our ongoing revitalization:
We are pleased to announce that, as a result of a generous bequest from our former Trustee David L. Davies and the generosity of his partner, Jack Weeden, the Museum is the grateful recipient of more than $1 million, which we are establishing as the David Davies & Jack Weeden Fund for Exhibitions. This fund will be used to support future Museum exhibitions in our Lincoln Square galleries and elsewhere, and to help us develop traveling exhibitions that will help in our strategic mission of “getting the art out there.” A number of David and Jack's friends have also made pledges in support of this fund.
David was a wonderful friend to the Museum for many years, as a Trustee, as an important collector of folk art and donor of art to the Museum, and as a leading member of the Clarion Society. The Clarion Society was established to honor those who include the Museum in their estate plans. David's generosity reminds us all of the importance of bequests, which leave a legacy to ensure the Museum’s future. For more information about the Clarion Society, please contact Elizabeth Kingman at 212. 265. 1061, or ekingman@folkartmuseum.org.
I am also pleased to announce that the Museum has re-established its Collections Committee, and we have begun to accept or selectively acquire works into our collection. The most recent notable acquisition is a spectacular early 20th-century quilt made by Carl Klewicke (1835–1913), a German-born tailor living in Corning, New York. This tour de force—featuring horses, flags, birds, fountains, and other eye-dazzling motifs—first came to the Museum’s attention in the 1980s during the New York Quilt Project, a statewide quilt documentation effort spearheaded by the American Folk Art Museum. We are thrilled to include this quilt in our collection. The quilt was also featured on the cover of the July/August 2012 issue of The Magazine Antiques, which featured three stories on the American Folk Art Museum including an interview with our trustee, Elizabeth Warren.
We are deep in the process of finding a new Director, as we have mentioned before. The Search Committee has met with a number of strong candidates, and we are optimistic that before the next of these President’s letters we will be able to present a new Director to our community. At the same time we are also rebuilding some of our other institutional capabilities. Over the past couple of months, we have made the following staff additions in addition to Ms. Ewen: we have hired Barbara Livenstein, the former VP of Communications at the Museum of the City of New York as our Public Relations Manager and Karley Klopfenstein, an experienced development officer, as a grants writer. Please join me in welcoming Barbara, Karley, and Lara to the Museum, and don’t hesitate to introduce yourselves if you see them at the Museum.
On a slightly bittersweet note, I also want to recognize here the recent departure of our Acting Director and Chief Administrative Officer, Linda Dunne. The “bitter” is that I will miss working with her; with her energy and dedication to the health of the Museum and her willingness to “slog through” whatever it took to ensure that all aspects of the Museum’s operations functioned effectively and well, Linda made an irreplaceable contribution to the Museum’s stable and successful future in our new incarnation. The “sweet” is my joy for Linda in her finding her “dream” job as Director of Museum Services and Operations at the Rubin Museum of Art, which will give her more time for her husband and family while fully utilizing her extensive experience in museum operations. We wish her well.
We are going to have an exciting fall at the Museum. On September 12, we will open two shows, Foiled: Tinsel Painting in America, presenting more than two hundred examples of this shimmering early 19th-century technique, and Ooh, Shiny!, examining the shiny and reflective materials that have proven to be a persistent impulse in the visual arts. On October 18, we will hold our Glitter Gala fall benefit, and we hope to be in a position by that time to announce the hiring of our new Director. There is a lot for us to look forward to together!
As always, thank you for your past, present, and future support!
Warmly,
Monty Blanchard
President, Board of Trustees
Letter to the Editor
The following letter to the New York Times appeared in the July 4, 2012, edition.
To the Editor:
In “For Arts Institutions, Thinking Big Can Be Suicidal” (Arts pages, June 28), Carroll Joynes, a founder and senior fellow at the Cultural Policy Center of the University of Chicago, refers to the American Folk Art Museum, saying it “was a wonderful museum and they self-destructed.” I can assure you that we are alive and well.
A museum is more than a building; its heart and soul—its exhibitions, its programs, and its collection—are its mission. A key part of our reinvigorated mandate is to “get the art out there,” and our collection is on view in three simultaneous installations: “Jubilation/Rumination,” at our flagship Lincoln Square location; “Compass,” which opened last month at the South Street Seaport Museum; and 14 major works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s recently opened American Wing.
Additionally, the museum has recently added three new trustees, eliminated its debt, and commenced a search for a new executive director. We offer numerous educational, artistic, and music events at Lincoln Square every week and are operating in the black on a yearly budget of about $3.5 million.
To quote Mark Twain, reports of our death are greatly exaggerated. The American Folk Art Museum continues to play a vibrant, exciting, and important role in the cultural ecology of New York City.
Monty Blanchard
President, Board of Trustees
American Folk Art Museum, New York
To the Editor:
In “For Arts Institutions, Thinking Big Can Be Suicidal” (Arts pages, June 28), Carroll Joynes, a founder and senior fellow at the Cultural Policy Center of the University of Chicago, refers to the American Folk Art Museum, saying it “was a wonderful museum and they self-destructed.” I can assure you that we are alive and well.
A museum is more than a building; its heart and soul—its exhibitions, its programs, and its collection—are its mission. A key part of our reinvigorated mandate is to “get the art out there,” and our collection is on view in three simultaneous installations: “Jubilation/Rumination,” at our flagship Lincoln Square location; “Compass,” which opened last month at the South Street Seaport Museum; and 14 major works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s recently opened American Wing.
Additionally, the museum has recently added three new trustees, eliminated its debt, and commenced a search for a new executive director. We offer numerous educational, artistic, and music events at Lincoln Square every week and are operating in the black on a yearly budget of about $3.5 million.
To quote Mark Twain, reports of our death are greatly exaggerated. The American Folk Art Museum continues to play a vibrant, exciting, and important role in the cultural ecology of New York City.
Monty Blanchard
President, Board of Trustees
American Folk Art Museum, New York
An Active Winter & Spring
March 29, 2012
Dear Friends and Supporters of the American Folk Art Museum:
Since my last President’s Letter of October 2011, we have been quite active at the American Folk Art Museum, and there is much exciting news to report. I am pleased to share our progress on many fronts, including the completion of a strategic plan, the opening of a great new exhibition, and the commencement of our search for a new Director.
As a key first step in our process of “reimagining, revitalizing, and reinventing” the Museum, we have completed a strategic planning process with the help of David Gordon, the former Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The plan characterizes the mission of the Museum as “promoting the appreciation of traditional folk art and the art of self-taught artists to both existing and new audiences by getting the art into the public domain and promoting scholarship into it.” The vision that will guide the Museum’s choices is “to establish the Museum: (1) at the heart of the discourse on the relevance and meaning of folk art and the art of the self-taught to today’s world; and (2) as a professionally governed institution, operating with sustainable finances.”
These mission and vision statements lead us to five major practical goals:
1. Get the art out there
While the Museum’s space at Lincoln Square will be devoted to changing exhibitions, we will also focus on promoting our art via various forms of creative presentation and collaboration. We will draw upon the collection for traveling exhibitions, explore long-term loans to other museums, and sponsor special exhibitions or seminars in non-museum spaces. Currently, 14 of our major pieces are on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its refurbished American Wing galleries, and we are working with other museums in the New York area on potential future collaborations and exhibitions.
2. Intellectual leadership
The Museum will continue to serve as a leader for debate and discussion about the significance of traditional folk art and the art of the self-taught and its relevance to the wider art world of today. We will work to stimulate interest and promote collecting, through lectures, artist talks, and symposia.
3. Governance strengthening
However well intentioned our decisions over the past decade, the outcome was that we took on obligations we could not meet. We understand that we must be thoughtful about our commitments and live within our resources, and our resolve will be proved through our performance over time. We are working to strengthen the Board of Trustees with new members with diverse talents and backgrounds. We have recently added two new trustees, and we are actively seeking to add more.
4. Spread the word
The Museum is alive, and we are engaged in planning our artistic activities for the long-term. This is wonderful news that we must share with the wider world. As we move forward, we will improve communication with you, our museum friends and supporters, through outreach such as these President’s Letters. We must all remain active and creative to spread the word of the museum’s vitality and merit.
5. Financial sustainability
The Museum is now debt-free and has over $4.5 million in restricted and unrestricted cash and investments. It has multi-year pledges from trustees and other supporters, and generous grants from institutions such as the Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs. The strategic plan has a five-year financial projection demonstrating a balanced operating budget. The Museum’s trustees are committed to expanding the sources of our funding and to increasing our trustee and supporter base, while retaining our cash reserves.
I am also pleased to announce that we have retained Phillips Oppenheim, a leading firm of search consultants, to help us find a new Director, and I want to share my vision of what I hope for from such a person. The Museum needs an energetic and creative leader who can communicate passion for both traditional folk art and the art of the self-taught and who can extend our impact well beyond Lincoln Square. She or he should have vision, warmth, imagination, and great communication skills. The Director should be someone who can attract new resources to the Museum: trustees, donors, curators, collectors, and broader audiences, and who can manage our existing human and financial resources efficiently and effectively. The Director will have an important role in shaping and directing how the Museum carries out the goals of the strategic plan, and will have the primary responsibility for continuing to create an exciting and solvent future for our Museum. This is a tall order and will demand a special person; my fellow trustees and I are confident that we will find such a person, and we expect the Museum will be further invigorated by our new Director’s leadership.
On the artistic front, our Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined exhibition opened in January and is an exciting presentation of works from the range of our collection, mostly added over the last ten years. In the New York Times, Ken Johnson lauded the show as “a wonderful exhibition” from “this irreplaceable institution . . . the beauty of the museum’s approach to art is that it focuses on singularly striking objects.” Senior curator Stacy C. Hollander and I were also seen and heard on the airwaves, on Channel NY1, Bloomberg News, and NPR. Antiques and the Arts Weekly also featured a cover story on the exhibition, and the Huffington Post shared a review and slideshow of images.
The American Folk Art Museum at Lincoln Square is a vibrant, lively, newly refurbished space, and attendance continues to rise with public programs nearly every day of the week. Public tours each Tuesday and Thursday, jazz afternoons each Wednesday, our new “Make It Thursday” series, and our popular “Free Music Fridays” series draw wonderful crowds. This spring, we will launch a new Wednesday “Mastersworks” lecture series, with an in-depth look at one folk art master each week. We hope you can join us there for one or more of these activities.
In January, the Museum held the twentieth annual “Uncommon Artists: The Anne Hill Blanchard Symposium,” with presentations by folk art scholars to examine creativity within a personal, aesthetic, and cultural context. At the Outsider Art Fair, Kevin Sampson spoke about his journey to Venice, sponsored by the Museum, to create site-specific installations in conjunction with the 2011 Biennale along with three other African American self-taught artists—Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, and Charlie Lucas.
We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, but we recognize we have much left to do.
I invite you to be part of our future, and ask you to continue to give us the benefit of your advice and support. Come see Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined at Lincoln Square! And thank you again for your past, present, and future support!
Warmly,
Monty Blanchard, President
Dear Friends and Supporters of the American Folk Art Museum:
Since my last President’s Letter of October 2011, we have been quite active at the American Folk Art Museum, and there is much exciting news to report. I am pleased to share our progress on many fronts, including the completion of a strategic plan, the opening of a great new exhibition, and the commencement of our search for a new Director.
As a key first step in our process of “reimagining, revitalizing, and reinventing” the Museum, we have completed a strategic planning process with the help of David Gordon, the former Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The plan characterizes the mission of the Museum as “promoting the appreciation of traditional folk art and the art of self-taught artists to both existing and new audiences by getting the art into the public domain and promoting scholarship into it.” The vision that will guide the Museum’s choices is “to establish the Museum: (1) at the heart of the discourse on the relevance and meaning of folk art and the art of the self-taught to today’s world; and (2) as a professionally governed institution, operating with sustainable finances.”
These mission and vision statements lead us to five major practical goals:
1. Get the art out there
While the Museum’s space at Lincoln Square will be devoted to changing exhibitions, we will also focus on promoting our art via various forms of creative presentation and collaboration. We will draw upon the collection for traveling exhibitions, explore long-term loans to other museums, and sponsor special exhibitions or seminars in non-museum spaces. Currently, 14 of our major pieces are on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its refurbished American Wing galleries, and we are working with other museums in the New York area on potential future collaborations and exhibitions.
2. Intellectual leadership
The Museum will continue to serve as a leader for debate and discussion about the significance of traditional folk art and the art of the self-taught and its relevance to the wider art world of today. We will work to stimulate interest and promote collecting, through lectures, artist talks, and symposia.
3. Governance strengthening
However well intentioned our decisions over the past decade, the outcome was that we took on obligations we could not meet. We understand that we must be thoughtful about our commitments and live within our resources, and our resolve will be proved through our performance over time. We are working to strengthen the Board of Trustees with new members with diverse talents and backgrounds. We have recently added two new trustees, and we are actively seeking to add more.
4. Spread the word
The Museum is alive, and we are engaged in planning our artistic activities for the long-term. This is wonderful news that we must share with the wider world. As we move forward, we will improve communication with you, our museum friends and supporters, through outreach such as these President’s Letters. We must all remain active and creative to spread the word of the museum’s vitality and merit.
5. Financial sustainability
The Museum is now debt-free and has over $4.5 million in restricted and unrestricted cash and investments. It has multi-year pledges from trustees and other supporters, and generous grants from institutions such as the Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs. The strategic plan has a five-year financial projection demonstrating a balanced operating budget. The Museum’s trustees are committed to expanding the sources of our funding and to increasing our trustee and supporter base, while retaining our cash reserves.
I am also pleased to announce that we have retained Phillips Oppenheim, a leading firm of search consultants, to help us find a new Director, and I want to share my vision of what I hope for from such a person. The Museum needs an energetic and creative leader who can communicate passion for both traditional folk art and the art of the self-taught and who can extend our impact well beyond Lincoln Square. She or he should have vision, warmth, imagination, and great communication skills. The Director should be someone who can attract new resources to the Museum: trustees, donors, curators, collectors, and broader audiences, and who can manage our existing human and financial resources efficiently and effectively. The Director will have an important role in shaping and directing how the Museum carries out the goals of the strategic plan, and will have the primary responsibility for continuing to create an exciting and solvent future for our Museum. This is a tall order and will demand a special person; my fellow trustees and I are confident that we will find such a person, and we expect the Museum will be further invigorated by our new Director’s leadership.
On the artistic front, our Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined exhibition opened in January and is an exciting presentation of works from the range of our collection, mostly added over the last ten years. In the New York Times, Ken Johnson lauded the show as “a wonderful exhibition” from “this irreplaceable institution . . . the beauty of the museum’s approach to art is that it focuses on singularly striking objects.” Senior curator Stacy C. Hollander and I were also seen and heard on the airwaves, on Channel NY1, Bloomberg News, and NPR. Antiques and the Arts Weekly also featured a cover story on the exhibition, and the Huffington Post shared a review and slideshow of images.
The American Folk Art Museum at Lincoln Square is a vibrant, lively, newly refurbished space, and attendance continues to rise with public programs nearly every day of the week. Public tours each Tuesday and Thursday, jazz afternoons each Wednesday, our new “Make It Thursday” series, and our popular “Free Music Fridays” series draw wonderful crowds. This spring, we will launch a new Wednesday “Mastersworks” lecture series, with an in-depth look at one folk art master each week. We hope you can join us there for one or more of these activities.
In January, the Museum held the twentieth annual “Uncommon Artists: The Anne Hill Blanchard Symposium,” with presentations by folk art scholars to examine creativity within a personal, aesthetic, and cultural context. At the Outsider Art Fair, Kevin Sampson spoke about his journey to Venice, sponsored by the Museum, to create site-specific installations in conjunction with the 2011 Biennale along with three other African American self-taught artists—Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, and Charlie Lucas.
We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, but we recognize we have much left to do.
I invite you to be part of our future, and ask you to continue to give us the benefit of your advice and support. Come see Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined at Lincoln Square! And thank you again for your past, present, and future support!
Warmly,
Monty Blanchard, President
Jubilatory January
February 1, 2012
January was a thrilling month for the American Folk Art Museum, as we’ve begun the new year with a new exhibition and a flurry of activity. It was wonderful to see so many of you at the opening reception for Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined.
In the New York Times last week, Ken Johnson lauded the show as “a wonderful exhibition” from “this irreplaceable institution... the beauty of the museum’s approach to art is that it focuses on singularly striking objects rather than on academically certified reputations or institutionalized versions of art history.” I hope you will read the entire review here.
Curator Stacy C. Hollander and President Monty Blanchard were also seen around the airwaves, on NY1 and Bloomberg News, and the Huffington Post shared a review and slideshow of images from the exhibition.
I hope you'll come see the exhibitions and join us for one of our upcoming programs.
Thank you for being a part of our museum family as we reimagine, revitalize, and reinvent. I’ll see you at the museum soon!
Linda Dunne, Acting Director
January was a thrilling month for the American Folk Art Museum, as we’ve begun the new year with a new exhibition and a flurry of activity. It was wonderful to see so many of you at the opening reception for Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined.
In the New York Times last week, Ken Johnson lauded the show as “a wonderful exhibition” from “this irreplaceable institution... the beauty of the museum’s approach to art is that it focuses on singularly striking objects rather than on academically certified reputations or institutionalized versions of art history.” I hope you will read the entire review here.
Curator Stacy C. Hollander and President Monty Blanchard were also seen around the airwaves, on NY1 and Bloomberg News, and the Huffington Post shared a review and slideshow of images from the exhibition.
I hope you'll come see the exhibitions and join us for one of our upcoming programs.
Thank you for being a part of our museum family as we reimagine, revitalize, and reinvent. I’ll see you at the museum soon!
Linda Dunne, Acting Director
Bright Future
October 11, 2011
As the new President of the Board of Trustees, I must begin my tenure by communicating to all our loyal supporters the great sense of excitement and opportunity that my fellow Trustees, the Museum’s staff and I feel as AFAM enters its second 50 years. There is no doubt we have been through a financial crisis and there are many challenges ahead of us, but with the commitment of our Board of Trustees and the Museum’s many dear friends, we are entering a dynamic and creative new phase of our existence.
At the Museum, we have begun speaking of our new “three R’s”: reimagine, revitalize, and reinvent. It is an exciting time, for there is much to do. We must continue to be frugal with our financial resources, but for the first time in many years, we can think of undertaking new initiatives and developing new approaches to our mission of collecting, presenting, studying and disseminating our traditional folk and contemporary outsider art. The American Folk Art Museum has, I believe, a unique mission and a unique place in the universe of museums, and all of us associated with it feel a great sense of responsibility and opportunity to remain in the forefront of America’s and the City’s artistic dialogue.
On a personal note, growing up as I did in rural North Carolina, I was blessed with parents who insisted that my brothers and I always treat others with respect and courtesy. The two most important expressions in our household were “please” and “thank you.” I am sure that as President of AFAM, I will be using both of those phrases a lot.
I know I will be saying “please” often and loudly, as the Museum seeks your support and advice. We will be saying “please” to all of our constituencies and friends as we seek the financial support that will fund our many varied activities and ensure the long-term viability of the institution. We will also be saying “please” as we work with other arts institutions to develop creative joint projects and collaborations that spread the awareness of our great art. And we will be saying “please” to any thoughtful friend who can offer us good ideas for how we can best accomplish our varied responsibilities and missions.
This first President’s Letter, on the other hand, must focus on saying “thank you.” There are many people and institutions to whom we owe thanks, and I hope you all will join me in appreciating what they have done for the Museum. Each of them has contributed significantly to make our current opportunity possible.
First, I must thank the Museum’s Board of Trustees with entrusting me with this exciting leadership opportunity. In particular, I want to thank our Chair, Laura Parsons, whose tenure as President coincided with a period of great financial challenges and who led us through this difficult period with grace and diligence. It was vital to me that she remain a leader here. Second, I want to acknowledge and thank Joyce Cowin, who has joyously committed to Lincoln Square and the Museum for many years, and whose recent substantial financial pledge in support of the revitalized Museum is the rock on which our future is built.
There are many, many others to thank:
• Our loyal staff—who have remained committed to AFAM’s success through difficult times, and have enabled the Museum to continue producing exhibitions, information, educational materials and activities at the highest level. Thank you.
• The Museum of Modern Art—who has been a great neighbor on 53rd Street. Thank you.
• Tod Williams and Billie Tsien—who designed a gem of a building for us and remained friends and supporters throughout our trials. Thank you.
• The Ford Foundation—which has responded to our challenges with significant support and will be stimulating us to become a new model, collaborative and innovative institution. Thank you.
• Kate Levin and NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs—who offered New York City’s support and encouragement to us to continue our unique and independent place in the artistic life of this great City. Thank you.
• The Rose Family—who, by entrusting us with the “Infinite Variety” red and white quilt show, gave us a chance to show New York and the world how great a museum we could be and stretched us to envision new ways we could extend our reach outside one location’s four walls. Thank you.
• The New York Times—whose critics’ appreciation of and passion for our art and our institution is second to none and is always valuable to us. Thank you.
Finally, I want to thank all of you who are reading this. You care about our art and our Museum. You are the reason it was worthwhile to save this Museum and its vision, its capabilities and, most of all, its art. You are the reason we are still alive today. We want more of you to see more of what we have, to understand better the exciting creativity, discipline, talent and vision of the many artists, renowned and unheralded, known and anonymous, who we have collected, who we respect and cherish and whose works we show. I hope to get to know all of you better. Thank you for your past, present and future support!
Monty Blanchard, President
As the new President of the Board of Trustees, I must begin my tenure by communicating to all our loyal supporters the great sense of excitement and opportunity that my fellow Trustees, the Museum’s staff and I feel as AFAM enters its second 50 years. There is no doubt we have been through a financial crisis and there are many challenges ahead of us, but with the commitment of our Board of Trustees and the Museum’s many dear friends, we are entering a dynamic and creative new phase of our existence.
At the Museum, we have begun speaking of our new “three R’s”: reimagine, revitalize, and reinvent. It is an exciting time, for there is much to do. We must continue to be frugal with our financial resources, but for the first time in many years, we can think of undertaking new initiatives and developing new approaches to our mission of collecting, presenting, studying and disseminating our traditional folk and contemporary outsider art. The American Folk Art Museum has, I believe, a unique mission and a unique place in the universe of museums, and all of us associated with it feel a great sense of responsibility and opportunity to remain in the forefront of America’s and the City’s artistic dialogue.
On a personal note, growing up as I did in rural North Carolina, I was blessed with parents who insisted that my brothers and I always treat others with respect and courtesy. The two most important expressions in our household were “please” and “thank you.” I am sure that as President of AFAM, I will be using both of those phrases a lot.
I know I will be saying “please” often and loudly, as the Museum seeks your support and advice. We will be saying “please” to all of our constituencies and friends as we seek the financial support that will fund our many varied activities and ensure the long-term viability of the institution. We will also be saying “please” as we work with other arts institutions to develop creative joint projects and collaborations that spread the awareness of our great art. And we will be saying “please” to any thoughtful friend who can offer us good ideas for how we can best accomplish our varied responsibilities and missions.
This first President’s Letter, on the other hand, must focus on saying “thank you.” There are many people and institutions to whom we owe thanks, and I hope you all will join me in appreciating what they have done for the Museum. Each of them has contributed significantly to make our current opportunity possible.
First, I must thank the Museum’s Board of Trustees with entrusting me with this exciting leadership opportunity. In particular, I want to thank our Chair, Laura Parsons, whose tenure as President coincided with a period of great financial challenges and who led us through this difficult period with grace and diligence. It was vital to me that she remain a leader here. Second, I want to acknowledge and thank Joyce Cowin, who has joyously committed to Lincoln Square and the Museum for many years, and whose recent substantial financial pledge in support of the revitalized Museum is the rock on which our future is built.
There are many, many others to thank:
• Our loyal staff—who have remained committed to AFAM’s success through difficult times, and have enabled the Museum to continue producing exhibitions, information, educational materials and activities at the highest level. Thank you.
• The Museum of Modern Art—who has been a great neighbor on 53rd Street. Thank you.
• Tod Williams and Billie Tsien—who designed a gem of a building for us and remained friends and supporters throughout our trials. Thank you.
• The Ford Foundation—which has responded to our challenges with significant support and will be stimulating us to become a new model, collaborative and innovative institution. Thank you.
• Kate Levin and NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs—who offered New York City’s support and encouragement to us to continue our unique and independent place in the artistic life of this great City. Thank you.
• The Rose Family—who, by entrusting us with the “Infinite Variety” red and white quilt show, gave us a chance to show New York and the world how great a museum we could be and stretched us to envision new ways we could extend our reach outside one location’s four walls. Thank you.
• The New York Times—whose critics’ appreciation of and passion for our art and our institution is second to none and is always valuable to us. Thank you.
Finally, I want to thank all of you who are reading this. You care about our art and our Museum. You are the reason it was worthwhile to save this Museum and its vision, its capabilities and, most of all, its art. You are the reason we are still alive today. We want more of you to see more of what we have, to understand better the exciting creativity, discipline, talent and vision of the many artists, renowned and unheralded, known and anonymous, who we have collected, who we respect and cherish and whose works we show. I hope to get to know all of you better. Thank you for your past, present and future support!
Monty Blanchard, President
Museum Future
September 22, 2011
The Board of Trustees of the American Folk Art Museum today voted unanimously to continue the Museum’s programs and operations at its Two Lincoln Square home and keep its collection intact under its stewardship as an independent entity. The plan includes the election of Chairman Laura Parsons and President Edward V. (Monty) Blanchard Jr., a new financial strategy that ensures the Museum’s fiscal viability, and a dynamic future while continuing its exhibitions, research, and educational programs at Two Lincoln Square.
“As president of the American Folk Art Museum for the past six years I have been privileged to work with a committed group of trustees and staff who have never lost sight of the purpose of a museum: to be stewards of art for the benefit of the public,” said American Folk Art Museum Chairman Laura Parsons. “I am proud to be associated with this Museum and I can say without hesitation that we are working with the motto ‘When one door closes another one is opened.’ I want to especially thank the Ford Foundation and the Department of Cultural Affairs of New York City for the faith they have shown in us and in the importance of our mission.”
Under the leadership of Chairman Laura Parsons, the board voted unanimously to elect Monty Blanchard as the Museum’s new president. Mr. Blanchard is a passionate collector of contemporary and outsider art, and with his late wife Anne donated 75 works from their collection to the Museum in 1998. He has served on the Museum’s Board since 2003 and has acted as Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee. Mr. Blanchard is a former investment banker and is currently an investor in distressed hotel properties. He is a graduate of Harvard College and has an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“I am honored and excited to be leading the Board as we enter our second 50 years,” said Mr. Blanchard. “We have such an outstanding collection, both traditional and contemporary, a great home at Lincoln Square and a base of loyal supporters, all of which position us well for an exciting future.”
The Board has received significant pledges from Trustees and other donors, including a major gift from the Ford Foundation, toward its operating budget.
“The American Folk Art Museum is an essential facet of New York City’s cultural heritage,” said Darren Walker, Vice President for Education, Creativity and Free Expression at the Ford Foundation. “Its unparalleled collection of folk art, drawn from diverse and self-taught artists, is a powerful showcase of the American spirit and an important public treasure for the people of our city. We are pleased to support the Museum’s development of a new, highly collaborative strategy to ensure that this irreplaceable art reaches as many people as possible.”
In addition to developing a financial plan, the Trustees are also creating a strategy that will increase the visibility of the Museum’s renowned collections and extend the American Folk Art Museum brand. The Museum will seek to establish a revitalized and expanded program of loans to collaborating New York City institutions, as well as packaging traveling exhibitions around the U.S., as ways of sharing folk art with wider audiences. The Brooklyn Museum, the New-York Historical Society, and the Museum of Arts and Design have expressed interest in working with the American Folk Art Museum to identify potential exhibitions where the museums respective collections inform and excite one another. The Metropolitan Museum of Art will display approximately 15 major works of art from the collection in honor of the opening of the American Wing and The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art.
“We are delighted to learn this news and look forward to continued collaboration with our distinguished sister institution,” said Thomas Campbell, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“The Brooklyn Museum is fully in support of the exceptional collections of the American Folk Art Museum being as accessible as possible to the people of the City of New York,” said Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold Lehman. “We would be pleased to collaborate with other colleague museums in our city to make this happen.”
“We look forward to working with the Folk Art Museum on possible future exhibitions,” said New-York Historical Society President Louise Mirrer. “Their wonderful collection complements our own holdings and we would welcome the opportunity to help build a larger audience for this exciting work.”
Museum trustees, President Blanchard, and the Museum curator and staff will continue to work together to refine the Museum’s strategy and identify opportunities for special exhibitions and educational programs.
We are touched by the outpouring of support in these past weeks and thank you for your continued enthusiasm. Please join, renew your membership, or make a contribution. We look forward to welcoming each of you to our reinvigorated home at Lincoln Square.
Linda Dunne, Acting Director
The Board of Trustees of the American Folk Art Museum today voted unanimously to continue the Museum’s programs and operations at its Two Lincoln Square home and keep its collection intact under its stewardship as an independent entity. The plan includes the election of Chairman Laura Parsons and President Edward V. (Monty) Blanchard Jr., a new financial strategy that ensures the Museum’s fiscal viability, and a dynamic future while continuing its exhibitions, research, and educational programs at Two Lincoln Square.
“As president of the American Folk Art Museum for the past six years I have been privileged to work with a committed group of trustees and staff who have never lost sight of the purpose of a museum: to be stewards of art for the benefit of the public,” said American Folk Art Museum Chairman Laura Parsons. “I am proud to be associated with this Museum and I can say without hesitation that we are working with the motto ‘When one door closes another one is opened.’ I want to especially thank the Ford Foundation and the Department of Cultural Affairs of New York City for the faith they have shown in us and in the importance of our mission.”
Under the leadership of Chairman Laura Parsons, the board voted unanimously to elect Monty Blanchard as the Museum’s new president. Mr. Blanchard is a passionate collector of contemporary and outsider art, and with his late wife Anne donated 75 works from their collection to the Museum in 1998. He has served on the Museum’s Board since 2003 and has acted as Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee. Mr. Blanchard is a former investment banker and is currently an investor in distressed hotel properties. He is a graduate of Harvard College and has an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“I am honored and excited to be leading the Board as we enter our second 50 years,” said Mr. Blanchard. “We have such an outstanding collection, both traditional and contemporary, a great home at Lincoln Square and a base of loyal supporters, all of which position us well for an exciting future.”
The Board has received significant pledges from Trustees and other donors, including a major gift from the Ford Foundation, toward its operating budget.
“The American Folk Art Museum is an essential facet of New York City’s cultural heritage,” said Darren Walker, Vice President for Education, Creativity and Free Expression at the Ford Foundation. “Its unparalleled collection of folk art, drawn from diverse and self-taught artists, is a powerful showcase of the American spirit and an important public treasure for the people of our city. We are pleased to support the Museum’s development of a new, highly collaborative strategy to ensure that this irreplaceable art reaches as many people as possible.”
In addition to developing a financial plan, the Trustees are also creating a strategy that will increase the visibility of the Museum’s renowned collections and extend the American Folk Art Museum brand. The Museum will seek to establish a revitalized and expanded program of loans to collaborating New York City institutions, as well as packaging traveling exhibitions around the U.S., as ways of sharing folk art with wider audiences. The Brooklyn Museum, the New-York Historical Society, and the Museum of Arts and Design have expressed interest in working with the American Folk Art Museum to identify potential exhibitions where the museums respective collections inform and excite one another. The Metropolitan Museum of Art will display approximately 15 major works of art from the collection in honor of the opening of the American Wing and The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art.
“We are delighted to learn this news and look forward to continued collaboration with our distinguished sister institution,” said Thomas Campbell, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“The Brooklyn Museum is fully in support of the exceptional collections of the American Folk Art Museum being as accessible as possible to the people of the City of New York,” said Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold Lehman. “We would be pleased to collaborate with other colleague museums in our city to make this happen.”
“We look forward to working with the Folk Art Museum on possible future exhibitions,” said New-York Historical Society President Louise Mirrer. “Their wonderful collection complements our own holdings and we would welcome the opportunity to help build a larger audience for this exciting work.”
Museum trustees, President Blanchard, and the Museum curator and staff will continue to work together to refine the Museum’s strategy and identify opportunities for special exhibitions and educational programs.
We are touched by the outpouring of support in these past weeks and thank you for your continued enthusiasm. Please join, renew your membership, or make a contribution. We look forward to welcoming each of you to our reinvigorated home at Lincoln Square.
Linda Dunne, Acting Director
Moving Date
June 30, 2011
On July 9, 2011, the American Folk Art Museum will move to its home at 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets. At Lincoln Square the museum will present a full schedule of exhibitions and related programming. Currently on view through September is the exhibition Super Stars, highlighting star-studded quilts from the collection, and the deeply affecting 9/11 National Tribute Quilt. For the fall, curator Stacy C. Hollander has organized “Life: Real and Imagined—A Decade of Collecting.” Among the artworks on view will be important portraits by 19th-century artists Ammi Phillips, Jacob Maentel, and the husband-and-wife team of Dr. Samuel and Ruth Shute; contemporary masters include James Castle, Henry Darger, and Martín Ramírez. Admission is always free.
The Museum Shop, which has always been a popular destination for those in the neighborhood as well as New York City residents and tourists, will continue to stock items handcrafted in the folk tradition and books on folk and decorative arts.
Please check the website calendar for events such as the Wednesday Guitar Afternoon series, Free Music Fridays, and quilt-related activities. To contact the administrative office, please call 212. 265. 1040.
We are grateful for your loyal support and hope to see you all at the American Folk Art Museum at Lincoln Square. We look forward to welcoming you!
Laura Parsons, President
On July 9, 2011, the American Folk Art Museum will move to its home at 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets. At Lincoln Square the museum will present a full schedule of exhibitions and related programming. Currently on view through September is the exhibition Super Stars, highlighting star-studded quilts from the collection, and the deeply affecting 9/11 National Tribute Quilt. For the fall, curator Stacy C. Hollander has organized “Life: Real and Imagined—A Decade of Collecting.” Among the artworks on view will be important portraits by 19th-century artists Ammi Phillips, Jacob Maentel, and the husband-and-wife team of Dr. Samuel and Ruth Shute; contemporary masters include James Castle, Henry Darger, and Martín Ramírez. Admission is always free.
The Museum Shop, which has always been a popular destination for those in the neighborhood as well as New York City residents and tourists, will continue to stock items handcrafted in the folk tradition and books on folk and decorative arts.
Please check the website calendar for events such as the Wednesday Guitar Afternoon series, Free Music Fridays, and quilt-related activities. To contact the administrative office, please call 212. 265. 1040.
We are grateful for your loyal support and hope to see you all at the American Folk Art Museum at Lincoln Square. We look forward to welcoming you!
Laura Parsons, President
Building Sale
May 10, 2011
This has been an extraordinary season for the American Folk Art Museum. Our current exhibitions Eugene Von Bruenchenhein and Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum have received widespread critical acclaim. Our Perspectives series, now in its second installment, is serving record numbers of schoolchildren with innovative, collection-based learning programs. And just a few weeks ago we welcomed more than 25,000 people to the Park Avenue Armory for a free exhibition of 651 red-and-white quilts, the largest quilt exhibition ever held in the city. The museum’s impact and the quality of our programming have never been greater.
However, this also remains a time of considerable financial challenge for the museum. Efforts to balance our budget and bring meaningful fiscal stability to the museum’s annual operations have been effective, but we have made little progress in raising the substantial funds necessary to satisfy the bond on our West 53rd Street building. The constant burden of servicing and paying down this debt imperils the institution and distracts the museum’s board and staff from our pursuit of programmatic excellence.
We believe that responsible stewardship of our collection, prudent financial management, and outstanding service to the public are of paramount importance. After a lengthy and thorough review of our situation, consultation with professional advisors, and much soul-searching, the board has therefore decided to sell our building in order to eliminate the bond debt entirely and focus on these fundamental priorities. The Museum of Modern Art, which has right of first refusal on the property, has agreed to acquire the building from us. We can now concentrate on building a new future for the American Folk Art Museum.
We will reestablish our Lincoln Square space—which for more than twenty years has been a lively venue for the museum’s exhibitions and programs—as our home and primary base of operations. We are also exploring strategic partnerships with other cultural and educational organizations, traveling exhibitions based on our collection, and an enhanced online presence. While we remain flexible in examining these possibilities, we are firm in our commitment to maintaining the museum’s collection and to presenting the exhibitions and public programs for which the museum is justly renowned.
We thank you for your continued assistance and support as we shape a new identity and a new operational model for the American Folk Art Museum. We look forward to welcoming each of you to our reinvigorated home at Lincoln Square.
Laura Parsons, President
This has been an extraordinary season for the American Folk Art Museum. Our current exhibitions Eugene Von Bruenchenhein and Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum have received widespread critical acclaim. Our Perspectives series, now in its second installment, is serving record numbers of schoolchildren with innovative, collection-based learning programs. And just a few weeks ago we welcomed more than 25,000 people to the Park Avenue Armory for a free exhibition of 651 red-and-white quilts, the largest quilt exhibition ever held in the city. The museum’s impact and the quality of our programming have never been greater.
However, this also remains a time of considerable financial challenge for the museum. Efforts to balance our budget and bring meaningful fiscal stability to the museum’s annual operations have been effective, but we have made little progress in raising the substantial funds necessary to satisfy the bond on our West 53rd Street building. The constant burden of servicing and paying down this debt imperils the institution and distracts the museum’s board and staff from our pursuit of programmatic excellence.
We believe that responsible stewardship of our collection, prudent financial management, and outstanding service to the public are of paramount importance. After a lengthy and thorough review of our situation, consultation with professional advisors, and much soul-searching, the board has therefore decided to sell our building in order to eliminate the bond debt entirely and focus on these fundamental priorities. The Museum of Modern Art, which has right of first refusal on the property, has agreed to acquire the building from us. We can now concentrate on building a new future for the American Folk Art Museum.
We will reestablish our Lincoln Square space—which for more than twenty years has been a lively venue for the museum’s exhibitions and programs—as our home and primary base of operations. We are also exploring strategic partnerships with other cultural and educational organizations, traveling exhibitions based on our collection, and an enhanced online presence. While we remain flexible in examining these possibilities, we are firm in our commitment to maintaining the museum’s collection and to presenting the exhibitions and public programs for which the museum is justly renowned.
We thank you for your continued assistance and support as we shape a new identity and a new operational model for the American Folk Art Museum. We look forward to welcoming each of you to our reinvigorated home at Lincoln Square.
Laura Parsons, President