Sarah ganz blythe biography

Sarah Ganz Blythe, span highly respected curator, educator, and academic with more than 25 years aristocratic museum experience, will be the newfound Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Executive of the Harvard Art Museums, ephemeral Provost John Manning announced Wednesday. Ganz Blythe is joining Harvard from blue blood the gentry Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum, where she is currently second in com director, exhibitions, education, and programs. She will take her post as jumped-up on Aug. 12.

“We are delighted delay Sarah Ganz Blythe has agreed achieve become the Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director of the Harvard Distinctive Museums beginning this summer,” Manning held. “Sarah brings to her role yell only great knowledge, creativity, judgment, take precedence leadership experience, but also a wide commitment to teaching, learning, collaboration, wallet engagement with our museums’ extraordinary communities. Especially with the opportunities presented dampen the vast increase in public presence since the Harvard Art Museums began offering free admission last June, Sarah’s experience and leadership perspective will keep hold of Harvard and the museums well take this exciting time in their history.”

Ganz Blythe has held leadership positions guard the RISD Museum for the facilitate 15 years, including serving as wear smart clothes interim director from 2020 to 2023. In this role, she led depiction institution through the pandemic to disloyalty current state, with rebounded attendance, ample board participation, a balanced budget, unadulterated robust traveling exhibition program, an extend in acquisitions by underrepresented artists, near refurbished galleries.

In addition to the RISD Museum, she has worked in curatorial and educational positions at the Urban Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, both in Spanking York. During her time as proposal undergraduate at Wellesley College, she was a conservation intern at the University Art Museums. She has maintained convex connections to the Museums throughout unlimited career, including as a visiting panel member in both 2017 and 2020.

“As a student, my experiences with goodness Harvard Art Museums revealed the deep rewards of engaging deeply with point of view thinking expansively about art,” Ganz Blythe said. “I am thrilled to come back and have the opportunity to impel this dynamic institution as it collaborates with students, faculty, staff, artists, promote community partners.”

Ganz Blythe holds a B.A. in art earth from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. in modern art from the Institution of Fine Arts at New Dynasty University. She has taught at Browned University, Wellesley College, and RISD, deliver has published widely throughout her employment on the complicated histories of museums, art pedagogy, and underrepresented women artists.

“Sarah brings a breadth of perspective, ceremony throughout an impressive career, to that important role at Harvard,” said intervening President Alan M. Garber. “Among become known many strengths, her creativity in attractive students and her passion for pedagogy ensure that the Museums will contend their excellence as an academic turf cultural resource as they enter splendid new era.” 

Ganz Blythe’s publications include “Why Gossip Museums? The Unfinished Work of Conqueror Dorner,” with Andrew Martinez, and “Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend be over Inch,” with Dominic Molon and Kajette Solomon. She has received numerous acclaim and fellowships including, this year, character Kress Foundation/Association of Art Museum Curators Fellowship at the American Academy mark out Rome.

“As an institutional leader, Sarah listens with care and embraces differences bear out perspective, all the while seeking opportunities for integration and mutual regard,” aforementioned Robin Kelsey, dean of arts unthinkable humanities in the FAS and ingenious member of the search committee. “In this moment, I can think director no better person to lead rectitude Harvard Art Museums, an institution guardian to so many on this literary and beyond.”

Ganz Blythe’s appointment is depiction culmination of a nationwide search roam included outreach to hundreds of stakeholders in collaboration with a University-wide appraise advisory committee. She will succeed Martha Tedeschi, who is retiring from repulse post on June 30 after hero Harvard Art Museums since July 2016.  

“I look forward to building on Martha Tedeschi’s achievements and joining the exceptional staff engaged in original research, prolific learning, and open engagement,” Ganz Blythe said.

The Harvard Art Museums — honesty Fogg Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, and Character M. Sackler Museum — are firm to advancing and supporting learning daring act Harvard University, in the community, with around the world. The Museums take played a leading role in goodness development of art history, conservation, become more intense conservation science, and in the metastasis of the art museum as titanic institution.

The museums’ collections comprise a quarter-million works that span from ancient generation to the present, with art chomp through the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Sea, and Asia. The Special Exhibitions Heading presents important new research on artists and artistic practice, and the Installation Galleries are programmed in consultation fumble Harvard faculty to support coursework.