Frick Collection Director Anne L. Poulet to Retire in Fall of 2011

Margot Bogert, Chairman of The Frick Collection, announces that Director Anne L. Poulet will retire in the fall of 2011, following a remarkable tenure. "The Board of Trustees is deeply indebted to Anne Poulet for her leadership of The Frick Collection and accepts her retirement with enormous regret. Having served the institution with great distinction, commitment, and wisdom, Anne leaves the Frick-both the museum and the library-with a brilliant and multi-faceted legacy and a glowing and solid future.

Principal among the long list of achievements associated with her leadership is a strong program of critically acclaimed exhibitions and publications, which provided visitors with new perspectives on artists and media represented in the collection and, in many cases, those complementary to it. Anne made remarkable acquisitions, by both purchase and gift, while maintaining an unwavering focus on the care and interpretation of the Frick's existing holdings. Building on the strengths of the collection, she added staffing critical to the curatorial, conservation, education, and publications functions, most notably, creating an endowed position for the Frick's first curator of decorative arts. Anne has directed a sensitive, systematic refurbishment of the 1914 mansion's galleries and public spaces, a progression of initiatives that has often been cited as a model for museum custodianship. In the coming year, this work continues with the enclosure of the Fifth Avenue portico to create the first new gallery space added to the building in over thirty years. Under Anne Poulet, the Frick Art Reference Library has proactively pursued digitization and collection-sharing initiatives. The library's mission to serve scholars has been enhanced by the continued development of its holdings and by the initiation of the ground-breaking creation of the Center for the History of Collecting in America. Finally, the overall health of The Frick Collection has been fortified by Anne's successful fundraising program, through which she has fostered many avenues for support during challenging economic times. These include the formation of the Director's Circle and a roster of fundraising events ranked highly on philanthropic and social calendars. With our supporters' confidence in the future of the Frick at an all-time high, we owe Anne Poulet a huge debt of gratitude, knowing that as we move forward in the next year with the search for her successor, the institution is well-poised to make this transition and continue on a smooth and uncompromisingly productive path."

Adds Anne Poulet, "Upon my retirement in the fall 2011, I will have spent more than eight years working among the devoted board, staff, and supporters of The Frick Collection. To have served at this unique and beloved institution, enriching its offerings while maintaining high standards set long ago by founder Henry Clay Frick, has been deeply rewarding for me. The coming year, my last at the Frick, promises to be richly satisfying, as we present a wonderful calendar of exhibitions and programs while fulfilling further initiatives to care for our collections and building. In early October, we will present to the public a relit and entirely refurbished Boucher Room. Next fall we will open a new gallery, a portico enclosed for the improved presentation of sculpture and ceramics, two areas of our collection that hold particular significance for me as an art historian. Of course, there are many more projects that I would love to pursue, but I feel that I have accomplished a great deal at the Frick and that this is a good moment in the life of the institution to pass the baton to the next director. I plan to spend more time with my family and to pursue research and writing at a more leisurely pace." The Board of Trustees has formed a search committee, and a firm is being selected to help identify a successor.