American Folk Art Museum
News
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