Max Hollein. Drew Alitzer photo.
NEW YORK CITY — The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced on April 10 that Max Hollein has been elected its next director. Hollein currently leads the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. After beginning his career at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, he was director and chief executive officer (CEO) of three of Germany’s most prestigious art institutions, including the Städel Museum, Frankfurt. An accomplished curator and museum leader, Hollein has demonstrated exceptional skill at building collections, diversifying audiences and broadening institutional development. He was elected at a meeting of the board of trustees on April 10 and will assume the directorship of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the summer of 2018.
“The board of trustees is delighted to announce the appointment of Max Hollein as the tenth director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” said Daniel Brodsky, chairman of the board of trustees. “He is an innovative and inspiring museum leader and has a proven record of building collections and organizing outstanding exhibitions. His knowledge of and passion for art is expansive, and we have great confidence that he will develop a shared vision and a strong collaboration with our extraordinary curators, conservators, program leaders and supporters.”
The director will report to the Met’s president and CEO, Dan Weiss, and both Weiss and Hollein will report to the board of trustees. Weiss said, “Max is a gifted leader and is exceptionally well qualified to serve as our next director. I am confident that ours will be a strong and fruitful partnership, and that Max will help advance the Met’s role as a global leader for culture and the arts.”
Hollein’s appointment follows a yearlong search led by the museum’s search committee, which was co-chaired by Candace Beinecke and Richard Chilton. The search began with the development of a job description informed by the participation of more than 400 staff, trustees and supporters. The committee then received approximately 100 nominations, comprising a broad and diverse pool, and met more than 25 times before and during the interview process.
Hollein will be responsible for the artistic vision and leadership of the museum and its encyclopedic collection of nearly 2 million objects spanning 5,000 years. The director’s responsibilities include oversight of the museum’s curatorial, conservation and scientific research departments; its exhibition and acquisition activities; education and public outreach; and other mission-oriented areas, including the libraries, digital initiatives, publications, imaging, the registrar and design.
Born in Vienna, Hollein studied art history at the University of Vienna (masters of art history, summa cum laude) and business administration at the Vienna University of Economics. He began his career at the Guggenheim Museum as chief of staff and executive assistant to the director. After six years he moved to Frankfurt to lead the Schirn Kunsthalle, which focuses on Modern and contemporary art, and in 2006 was appointed to lead, in addition, the Städel Museum, which houses one of Germany’s most outstanding collections of Old Master, Nineteenth Century and Modern art, and the Liebieghaus, whose world-renowned sculpture collection ranges from ancient Egypt to Neoclassicism.
For information, 800-662-3397 or www.metmuseum.org.
