The University of California, Santa Barbara has named an accomplished museum administrator and arts educator to serve as director of the University Art Museum.
Bonnie Kelm has been, since 1996, director of the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary, where she also has served as associate professor of art and art history. Earlier, she served as director of the Miami University Art Museum and the William Holmes McGuffey Museum in Oxford, Ohio.
"Bonnie is an experienced administrator and strong leader with an energetic and charismatic style that will undoubtedly contribute to the continued growth and excellence of our museum," said Aaron Ettenberg, acting provost of UCSB, in announcing the appointment. "I was particularly pleased to see that she immediately recognized the importance of the art museum not just as a means of enriching the lives of students and faculty, but also as a unique and invaluable resource for the world outside the campus. She will be a wonderful addition to the UCSB and Santa Barbara communities."
Calling Kelm "an accomplished and experienced museum professional," David Marshall, dean of humanities and fine arts at UCSB and chair of the search committee, said its members were "very impressed by her record of dynamic and dedicated leadership."
Kelm, who will take up her new duties at UCSB in July, is an active and respected member of the American Association of Museums, the International Council of Museums, and the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries. The Muscarelle Museum of Art's permanent collection spans the 300-year history of the College of William & Mary and consists of 3,500 art objects. The collection is particularly noted for its European and colonial portraiture, American painting, old master drawings and a strong historical survey of other works on paper. A teaching core of Asian, African and American Indian art complete the collection.
UCSB's University Art Museum was established in 1959, beginning as a gallery dedicated to arts education. Today, the museum is considered a national leader among university art museums, with an ambitious program of exhibitions, publications, and educational activities. Its distinguished permanent collections include more than 7,000 works of art and 400,000 architectural drawings and related materials. The University Art Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums.
"It is my fondness for the vibrant cultural life of the Santa Barbara community together with the strong academic presence of the University of California that prompted my interest in the director's position at the University Museum," said Kelm. "The most rewarding moments of my career have occurred through the creation of projects that bring together art, people, and possibilities -- collaborative initiatives inspired by the resources readily available on a campus and in the community. I'm excited about my new position and the rich potential for the University Art Museum in the Santa Barbara region."
Kelm has published widely on art history as well as museum administration. Among her many notable publications are the exhibition catalogue "Georgia O'Keefe in Williamsburg: A Re-creation of the Artist's First Public Exhibition in the South," published last year in conjunction with a major exhibition at the Muscarelle Museum.
She also has written and spoken widely on issues of stolen art and the repatriation of art looted in the Nazi era. She is among the contributors to Museum Policy and Procedure for Holocaust-Era Issues, published by the American Association of Museums. Her most recent publication was an essay titled "Recent Museum Ethical Policies and Their Implications for University Museums," which appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of Museologia: An International Journal of Museology.
"The issue of Nazi-era looted art and assets is very intriguing to me, and I am involved in efforts to get museums to become more aware of the issue of the provenance of donated art works," said Kelm. She has been invited to speak on the subject at next year's annual meeting of the College Art Association.
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About the University Art Museum and Its Collections
On permanent view is the Sedgwick Collection of Old Master paintings, which includes 20 works dating from the 15th-17th centuries.
Also on permanent display are selections from the Morgenroth Collection of Renaissance medals and plaquettes, 420 items of German and Italian manufacture that are internationally renowned.
Examples from both Collections are permanently exhibited together in a newly renovated gallery.
Shown in the galleries on a rotating basis are selections from other distinguished historical collections, enhancing the Museum's role in teaching and research. Among our strengths is a collection of 16th-18th century drawings and prints, especially a group of 43 fine Italian Old Master drawings. We also have representative examples of Greek terra-cottas and painted vessels, African sculpture, Pre-Columbian ceramics, and Native Californian baskets.
A major collections emphasis is 20th-century art in all media, with a special focus on
graphic art, including drawings, prints and photography (e.g., Jean Arp, Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, Richard Diebenkorn, David Hockney, Arnulf Rainer, John Coplans, Minor White, Chuck Close, and Terry Winters). We have acquired the Trevey Collection of 128 early 20th-century American Realist prints (e.g., Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, Isabel Bishop). A significant gift in 1984, the Ruth Schaffner Collection, includes 101 items of international post-war art, with examples by such artists as Clement Meadmore, Ed Moses, Allan McCollum, John McCracken and Robert Therrien. Another distinctive holding is a group of over 300 paintings and drawings from the estate of the early 20th-century landscape artist, Fernand Lungren (who retired to Santa Barbara). Examples of 20th century art are also shown regularly in the permanent galleries.
The Architectural Drawing Collection is among the most comprehensive of its kind in the country. Its distinctive status is due to it being both a collection of original drawings and an unsurpassed regional archive of supporting architectural documentation (specifications, letters, notes, photographs, models and architect-designed furniture). The collection pertains primarily to architects and designers who have practiced in California. Large groups of drawings and archival materials have been obtained from such internationally known architects as Irving J. Gill, R. M. Schindler, Richard Neutra, Gregory Ain, Kem Weber, Cliff May, Robert Stacy-Judd, and others.
In addition to major exhibitions organized around the work of many of these architects, drawings from this archive have been shown on a rotating basis.# # #
For further information about the University Art Museum, contact:Susan Jordan(805) 893-4608smjordan@uam.ucsb.edu
Or visit the University Art Museum web site, www.uam.ucsb.edu
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