Departments at MoMA

Thanks to the exhibition dataset from MoMA, we can track and display who was head of which department, and when. You can also see the larger picture of how departments have opened, closed and merged since the museum was established in 1929. It's also definitely worth reading the README notes on Github for extra detail about the history of the departments.

Map of Department Heads

Each black rectangle represents a person. And, please note that exhibition data only goes to 1989, so you might see some more recent people listed with "no exhibitions" after that date, even though that may not be the case.

The Museum of Modern Art has had six Directors since its inception in 1929.

Alfred H. Barr, Jr. American, 1902–1981
1929–1943 • Director • 53 exhibitions
René d'Harnoncourt American, 1901–1968
1949–1968 • Director • 24 exhibitions
Bates Lowry American, 1924–2004
1968–1969 • Director • 2 exhibitions
John B. Hightower American, 1933–2013
1970–1972 • Director • no exhibitions
Richard E. Oldenburg American, born 1933
1972–1994 • Director • no exhibitions
Glenn D. Lowry American, born 1954
1995–now • Director • no exhibitions

Curatorial departments

Department of Painting and Sculpture 1929–now
1. Alfred H. Barr, Jr. American, 1902–1981
  1929–1940 • as Director of the Museum • 53 exhibitions
2. Alfred H. Barr, Jr. American, 1902–1981
  1940–1943 • as Director of the Museum and Curator of the Department • 53 exhibitions
3. James Thrall Soby American, 1906–1979
  1943–1945 • 19 exhibitions
4. James Johnson Sweeney American, 1900–1986
  1945–1946 • 11 exhibitions
5. Dorothy C. Miller American, 1904–2003
  1946–1949 • 49 exhibitions
6. Alfred H. Barr, Jr. American, 1902–1981
  1947–1967 • as Director of Museum Collections • 53 exhibitions
7. Andrew Carnduff Ritchie American, born Scotland, 1907–1978
  1949–1957 • 24 exhibitions
8. Peter Selz American, born Germany 1919
  1958–1965 • 20 exhibitions
9. Bates Lowry American, 1924–2004
  1968–1969 • 2 exhibitions
10. William S. Lieberman American, 1923–2005
  1969–1971 • 100 exhibitions
11. William S. Rubin American, 1927–2006
  1969–1971 • as Chief Curator • 39 exhibitions
12. William S. Rubin American, 1927–2006
  1971–1988 • 39 exhibitions
13. Kirk Varnedoe American, 1946–2003
  1988–2001 • 3 exhibitions
14. Kynaston McShine American, born Trinidad 1935
  2001–2003 • 29 exhibitions
15. John Elderfield British, born 1943
  2003–2008 • 18 exhibitions
16. Ann Temkin American, born 1959
  2008–now • no exhibitions
Department of Architecture 1932–1949
1. Philip Johnson American, 1906–2005
  1932–1934 • 36 exhibitions
2. Philip L. Goodwin American, 1885–1958
  1935–1948 • as Chairman • 9 exhibitions
3. Janet Henrich
  1941–1942 • as Director • 2 exhibitions
4. Elizabeth Mock American, 1911–1998
  1942–1946 • as Director • 9 exhibitions
Department of Film 1935–now
1. John E. Abbott
  1935–1945 • no exhibitions
2. Iris Barry American, born England, 1995–1969
  1946–1951 • 9 exhibitions
3. Richard Griffith
  1951–1965 • no exhibitions
4. Willard Van Dyke American, 1906–1986
  1965–1974 • 5 exhibitions
5. Ted (Edward S.) Perry American, born 1937
  1975–1978 • no exhibitions
6. Mary Lea Bandy American, 1943–2014
  1979–2005 • no exhibitions
7. Rajendra Roy American
  2007–now • no exhibitions
Department of Industrial Design 1940–1948
1. Eliot Noyes American, 1910–1977
  1940–1946 • 9 exhibitions
2. Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. American, 1910–1989
  1946–1949 • 14 exhibitions
Department of Photography 1940–now
1. Beaumont Newhall American, 1908–1993
  1940–1947 • as Curator • 6 exhibitions
2. Nancy Newhall American, 1908–1974
  1942–1945 • as Acting Curator • 6 exhibitions
3. Willard D. Morgan American, 1900–1967
  1943–1945 • as Director of the Department and the Photography Center • 1 exhibition
4. Edward Steichen American, born Luxembourg. 1879–1973
  1947–1962 • 88 exhibitions
5. John Szarkowski American, 1925–2007
  1962–1991 • 84 exhibitions
6. Peter Galassi American, born 1951
  1991–2011 • 8 exhibitions
7. Quentin Bajac French, born 1965
  2013–now • no exhibitions
Department of Dance and Theater Design 1944–1948
1. George Amberg Born 1901
  1944–1948 • 8 exhibitions
Department of Architecture and Design 1949–now
1. Philip Johnson American, 1906–2005
  1949–1954 • 36 exhibitions
2. Arthur Drexler American, 1921–1987
  1956–1987 • 79 exhibitions
3. Stuart Wrede American, born Finland 1944
  1987–1992 • 5 exhibitions
4. Terence Riley American, born 1954
  1992–2006 • no exhibitions
5. Barry Bergdoll American
  2007–2013 • no exhibitions
6. Martino Stierli Swiss, born 1974
  2015–now • no exhibitions
Department of Drawings and Prints 1960–now
1. William S. Lieberman American, 1923–2005
  1960–1969 • 100 exhibitions
2. Christophe Cherix Swiss, born 1969
  2013–now • no exhibitions
Department of Prints and Illustrated Books 1969–2013
1. Riva Castleman American, 1930–2014
  1969–1995 • 61 exhibitions
2. Deborah Wye American
  1996–2010 • 7 exhibitions
3. Christophe Cherix Swiss, born 1969
  2010–2013 • no exhibitions
Department of Drawings 1971–2013
1. William S. Lieberman American, 1923–2005
  1971–1979 • 100 exhibitions
2. John Elderfield British, born 1943
  1980–1994 • 18 exhibitions
3. Margit Rowell Born 1937
  1994–1999 • no exhibitions
4. Gary Garrels American, born 1957
  2000–2005 • no exhibitions
5. Cornelia Butler American, born 1963
  2006–2013 • no exhibitions
Chief Curator at Large 1993–now
1. John Elderfield British, born 1943
  1993–2003 • 18 exhibitions
2. Kynaston McShine American, born Trinidad 1935
  2003–2009 • 29 exhibitions
3. Klaus Biesenbach German, born 1967
  2009–now • no exhibitions
Department of Media and Performance Art 2006–now
1. Klaus Biesenbach German, born 1967
  2006–2009 • no exhibitions
2. Sabine Breitwieser Austrian, born 1962
  2010–2013 • no exhibitions
3. Stuart Comer American
  2013–now • no exhibitions