The Barnes Foundation has just announced that Thomas (“Thom”) Collins will be its next executive director and president, succeeding Derek Gillman, who left the building a full year ago. Collins will take the helm in mid-March.
Photo by Chocolate Milk Photography
A Philadelphia native, Collins has been director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (formerly Miami Art Museum) for the last five years. As detailed in the above-linked announcement, he has an extensive track record, having previously worked at the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY; Contemporary Museum, Baltimore; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati; and Henry Art Gallery, Seattle. He got good marks for his Miami stewardship in the Miami Herald‘s piece about his imminent departure.
As for his plans to “build on the legacy of Dr. [Albert] Barnes and his associate Violette de Mazia,” he told Stephan Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer that “the next big hump is how do we build on Dr. Barnes’ legacy in new ways.” Digital initiatives, he indicated, are part of that game.
Just yesterday, in connection with the surprising announcement that Gillman, a Chinese art specialist, would be joining Christie’s as “chairman, Impressionist & Modern Art, senior vice president, the Americas” (quite a mouthful!), I had (prophetically?) tweeted this:
While Gillman becomes Imp/Mod chair @ChristiesInc Americas, @The_Barnes still lacks a permanent executive director, a year after he left.
— Lee Rosenbaum (@CultureGrrl) January 7, 2015
I also had tweeted this:
Although @ChristiesInc hired Gillman for his “wide network of relationships,” his fundraising @The_Barnes fell short. http://t.co/SFSvDcccfm — Lee Rosenbaum (@CultureGrrl) January 7, 2015
Let’s see what Collins has to say about the Barnes’ financial underpinnings and its “next phase of development,” as Joseph Neubauer, chairman of its board, put it in today’s press release.