Maxwell L. Anderson
Encyclopedia
Maxwell L. Anderson is the Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO
of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
in Indianapolis
, Indiana
, USA. On January 9, 2012, Anderson will assume the role of the Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art
, following a five-and-a-half-year tenure at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
's Julian Clarence Levi Professor Quentin Anderson
and grandson of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Maxwell Anderson
, he was born in 1956 in New York City
and raised there, attending Collegiate School (New York) and graduating from The Dalton School
. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth College
in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1977 with highest distinction in Art History, and A.M. (1978) and Ph.D. (1981) degrees in the history of Art from Harvard University
.
in Atlanta, Georgia (1987–1995), director of Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario
(1995–1998) and the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art
in New York City (1998–2003).
In 2003, Anderson resigned from the Whitney Museum over disagreements with Board leadership about the Museum’s artistic direction, and became a Leadership Fellow at the Yale School of Management
's Chief Executive Leadership Program, and subsequently joined AEA Consulting of London and New York, a firm advising cultural institutions on planning and programming. In 2006, he resumed his career as a museum director in Indianapolis. Since arriving at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the museum has added over $30 million to its endowment through gifts and pledges and has more than doubled museum attendance to reach some 450,000 visitors annually.
He has lectured and published widely on general issues of museum practice, especially on the ethical collecting of antiquities, institutional transparency, free expression, artists’ rights, and uses of new technologies. Anderson is a former president of the Association of Art Museum Directors
, and trustee of the American Federation of Arts
. In 1990, he was decorated with the rank of Commendatore (Knight Commander) in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
and in 2010 was awarded the French Republic's rank of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
(Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters).
(AMICO) in 1997 and the Art Museum Network in 1999.
In 2008, he modeled museum transparency with the award winning IMA Dashboard and in 2009, he launched ArtBabble
, a site for art museums worldwide to share video content.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Indianapolis Museum of Art
The Indianapolis Museum of Art is an encyclopedic art museum located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum, which underwent a $74 million expansion in 2005, is located on a campus on the near northwest area outside downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery.The...
in Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, USA. On January 9, 2012, Anderson will assume the role of the Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art
Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art is a major art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, USA, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In 1984, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Arts District, Dallas, Texas...
, following a five-and-a-half-year tenure at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Early life and education
The son of Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
's Julian Clarence Levi Professor Quentin Anderson
Quentin Anderson
Quentin Anderson was an American literary critic and cultural historian at Columbia University. His research focused on 19th-century American authors, especially Henry James, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman, and their attempts to define American identity as both connected to and...
and grandson of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
, he was born in 1956 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and raised there, attending Collegiate School (New York) and graduating from The Dalton School
The Dalton School
The Dalton School, originally called the Children's University School, is a private university-preparatory school on New York City's Upper East Side and a member of both the New York Interschooland the Ivy Preparatory School League...
. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1977 with highest distinction in Art History, and A.M. (1978) and Ph.D. (1981) degrees in the history of Art from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Career
Maxwell Anderson worked as a curatorial assistant at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and subsequently as assistant curator from 1981–87, and became director of the Michael C. Carlos MuseumMichael C. Carlos Museum
The Michael C. Carlos Museum is an art museum located in Atlanta on the historic quadrangle of Emory University's main campus. The Carlos Museum has the largest ancient art collections in the Southeast, including objects from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Near East, and the ancient Americas...
in Atlanta, Georgia (1987–1995), director of Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
(1995–1998) and the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
in New York City (1998–2003).
In 2003, Anderson resigned from the Whitney Museum over disagreements with Board leadership about the Museum’s artistic direction, and became a Leadership Fellow at the Yale School of Management
Yale School of Management
The Yale School of Management is the graduate business school of Yale University and is located on Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The School offers Master of Business Administration and Ph.D. degree programs. As of January 2011, 454 students were enrolled in its MBA...
's Chief Executive Leadership Program, and subsequently joined AEA Consulting of London and New York, a firm advising cultural institutions on planning and programming. In 2006, he resumed his career as a museum director in Indianapolis. Since arriving at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the museum has added over $30 million to its endowment through gifts and pledges and has more than doubled museum attendance to reach some 450,000 visitors annually.
He has lectured and published widely on general issues of museum practice, especially on the ethical collecting of antiquities, institutional transparency, free expression, artists’ rights, and uses of new technologies. Anderson is a former president of the Association of Art Museum Directors
Association of Art Museum Directors
The Association of Art Museum Directors is an organisation of art museums in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.Established in 1916 by the directors of twelve American museums, the Association formally incorporated in 1969. At that time the Association also hired an employee, and increased the...
, and trustee of the American Federation of Arts
American Federation of Arts
The American Federation of Arts is an organization in the United States of museums and other entities involved in the arts. It was established in 1909 at a convention held in Washington, D. C. from May 11–13 of that year called by the National Academy of Art. The concept for the organization was...
. In 1990, he was decorated with the rank of Commendatore (Knight Commander) in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
and in 2010 was awarded the French Republic's rank of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
(Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters).
New media
Anderson was one of the earliest proponents of using new media technologies to advance public interest in art. As Liaison for Information Technology of the AAMD and a Member of the Advisory Council of the Getty Art History Information Program (AHIP) he helped found the Art Museum Image ConsortiumArt Museum Image Consortium
Art Museum Image Consortium was a non-profit organization of institutions with collections of art, collaborating to enable educational use of museum multimedia...
(AMICO) in 1997 and the Art Museum Network in 1999.
In 2008, he modeled museum transparency with the award winning IMA Dashboard and in 2009, he launched ArtBabble
ArtBabble
ArtBabble is a cloud based video hosting service for art content and has been called the "YouTube of the arts". It was launched in April 2009 and won the 2010 "Best of the Web" award at the Museums and the Web conference...
, a site for art museums worldwide to share video content.