JAY A. LEVENSON APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
November 1996......Glenn D. Lowry, Director of The Museum
of Modern Art, has announced the appointment of Jay A. Levenson as Director
of the International Program. In his new position, Mr. Levenson will
develop and oversee exchanges of contemporary art between MoMA and museums
around the world.
Since December of 1995, Mr. Levenson has served as
Deputy Director for Program Administration at the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum, New York. His responsibilities there included the overall
management of the museum's exhibition program and technological
initiatives. He has also worked on major exhibitions for the National
Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the High Museum of Art in
Atlanta.
"I'm extremely pleased to welcome someone of Jay's experience
and stature to The Museum of Modern Art, where he will bring his
substantial skills to our International Program," said Mr. Lowry. "One of
the Museum's primary missions is to share its resources and encourage the
broadest possible understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary
art with audiences around the world. Jay is the ideal person to help us
achieve that goal."
At the Guggenheim, Mr. Levenson most recently
coordinated two major exhibition projects: Africa: The Art of a
Continent earlier this year and, for 1997, China: 5000 Years, a
show organized in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Culture that
will trace the history of art in China from its neolithic origins to the
present day.
"This is a time of great promise for MoMA and I am
delighted to be joining its distinguished staff," said Mr. Levenson. "I
look forward to working with Glenn Lowry, the staff of the Museum, and the
members of the International Council to ensure that the International
Program plays an integral role in the evolving vision of the Museum's
future."
Mr. Levenson is the third director of the International Program
since its founding in 1952. He succeeds Waldo Rasmussen, who retired, and
Porter A. McCray, who was the program's first director and served from 1952
until 1961. Most recently, Elizabeth Streibert has been serving as Acting
Director.
The International Program was created to develop
long-range exchanges of contemporary art with other countries. Since then,
more than 250 exhibitions covering all areas of modern art have been
circulated within Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America, and Africa. The
program also organizes exchanges of library materials, educational
programs, and publications with museums throughout the world. In 1953, the
International Council, a nonprofit membership corporation of art
collectors, patrons, and community leaders, was founded to provide the
International Program with national and international support.
"I'm very
excited to welcome Jay as the new Director of the International Program,"
said Jo Carole Lauder, President of the International Council. "I'm
confident that he will bring new ideas and projects to the program while
building on the many achievements of Porter McCray, Waldo Rasmussen, and
Elizabeth Streibert. I look forward to working with him."
Prior to
joining the Guggenheim, Mr. Levenson served as managing curator of
Rings, an exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta that ran
in conjunction with the 1996 Summer Olympics. From 1988 to 1991 he served
at the National Gallery of Art as Managing Curator of Circa 1492: Art in
the Age of Exploration (1991–92). He also organized The Age of the
Baroque in Portugal and Giambologna's Cesarini Venus, both in
1993.
A 1981 graduate of Yale Law School, Mr. Levenson received a
bachelor's degree in art history summa cum laude from Yale College in 1970.
From 1981 to 1988 he was an associate at the New York law firm of Wachtell,
Lipton, Rosen & Katz, specializing in corporate law in the field of mergers
and acquisitions.
He begins his new position at The Museum of Modern Art
on November 18.
For further information, contact John Wolfe, Director of
Communications, 212/708–9747.
