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John E. Buchanan, Jr. Appointed Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
11/18/2005 Appointment is effective as of February 1, 2006  San Francisco--Diane B. Wilsey, President of the Board of Trustees of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, announced today the appointment of John E. Buchanan Jr. as Director of the Fine Arts Museums, effective February 1, 2006. In his position as Director, Buchanan will oversee both the new de Young museum and the Legion of Honor. For the past 11 years, Buchanan has served as executive director of the Portland Art Museum.
“We are delighted that John will assume the directorship of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in early 2006,” said Wilsey. “During his tenure at the Portland Art Museum, he has demonstrated strong leadership, keen intelligence, and a deep commitment to community involvement. He has quadrupled the museum membership, instigated far-reaching educational programs and led successful capital campaigns.”
Prior to the Portland Art Museum, Buchanan served as director of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis from 1986 to 1994, and the executive director of the Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences in Peoria, IL, from 1982 to 1986. He has also served as the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) Coordinator for the American Association of Museums and the Coordinator of Museum Development for the State of Tennessee at the Tennessee State Museum.
While at the Portland Art Museum, Buchanan has organized numerous major international exhibitions, including Hesse – A Princely German Collection, which is currently on view, and Stroganoff: The Palace and Collections of a Russian Noble Family. Buchanan also led “New Art For New Buildings,” an ambitious collection-building program. Among the notable acquisitions made during Buchanan’s tenure are:
- The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection of Northwest Art
- The Elizabeth Cole Butler Bequest of Native American Art of over 4,000 tribal objects and the Phil and Sue Bogue Collection of pre-Columbian art, much of which is on view in the Museum’s Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Center for Native American Art established in 2000
- The private art collection of the late art critic Clement Greenberg, numbering 155 paintings, drawings, and sculptures by major American abstract artists, as well as hundreds of other works by modern and contemporary artists including Edward and Nancy Kienholz and Roy Lichtenstein that serve as the core of the Museum’s new Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art.
“I am proud and honored to have been selected to serve as the next director of the Fine Arts Museums, and I am excited about the opportunity to work with the trustees, staff, and the citizens of San Francisco,” Buchanan said. “The de Young and the Legion of Honor are extraordinary museums. My goal is to ensure the Fine Arts Museums’ ongoing vital role in the cultural life of the Bay Area and the nation, and to continue to expand the Museums’ reputation as one of the finest public art institutions in the world.”
Buchanan continued: ”I am eager to build on the accomplishments of Harry Parker, who has led the museums with great distinction over the last eighteen years, and am extremely respectful of his work and that of the staff and trustees, particularly that of the President Dede Wilsey. They have a big vision and they are succeeding.”
“John Buchanan’s passion and extensive experience with galvanizing large urban communities around the visual arts will be an incredible asset to the Fine Arts Museums and the city of San Francisco,” said Parker. “His arrival comes at the perfect time to build on the excitement surrounding the opening of the new de Young, and his new ideas and energy will be a tremendous gain to the city of San Francisco.”
Buchanan has led a series of successful capital campaigns over the course of his career. Most recently, the Portland Art Museum unveiled the third phase of its ten-year $125 million Master Plan for capital and endowment growth, led by Buchanan, with the grand opening of a $40 million renovation and expansion of its second facility, the Mark Building. Buchanan also led the Dixon Gallery’s second capital expansion, including newly-built exhibition galleries as well as the renovation of the 1940 Dixon museum.
Buchanan holds a Bachelor’s degree from The University of the South in Sewanee, TN, and a Master’s degree in the history of art from Vanderbilt University. He has received numerous awards and appointments including the Legion of Honor, presented by the French government, and membership on the National Museum Services Board of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the largest federal funding agency for libraries and museums in America.
About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The de Young museum and its sister museum, the Legion of Honor, together comprise the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the largest public arts institution in the city and one of the largest art museums in the United States.
The Legion of Honor is located in San Francisco's Lincoln Park (34th Avenue and Clement Street). Its collections span 4000 years and include major holdings in Rodin sculpture; paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Watteau, de la Tour, Vigée Le Brun, Cézanne, Monet, and Picasso, among other Dutch, Italian, German, English, and French masters; a 15th-century Spanish ceiling, European decorative arts, tapestries, and over 70,000 prints and drawings.
Founded in 1895 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the de Young museum has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city and a cherished destination for millions of residents and visitors to the region for over 100 years. In October 2005, the de Young reopened in a state-of-the-art new building and attracted more than 50,000 visitors during its opening weekend. Designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron and Fong & Chan Architects in San Francisco, the new de Young provides San Francisco with a landmark art museum to showcase the museum’s significant collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, art from Central and South America, and from the Pacific and Africa, as well as an important and diverse collection of textiles.
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