Mariët Westermann

Mariët Westermann
Born1962 (age 63–64)
Netherlands
EducationWilliams College
New York University Institute of Fine Arts
OccupationsArt historian, museum director and academic administrator
EmployerSolomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
TitleDirector and chief executive officer

Mariët Westermann (born 1962) is a Dutch-born art historian specialising in seventeenth-century Dutch art and a museum director and administrator. Since June 2024, she has served as director and chief executive officer of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation.[1] She is the first woman to lead the international museum organisation.[2][3]

Early life and education

Westermann grew up in the Netherlands and graduated magna cum laude from Williams College in the U.S. 1984.[4] She received her master's degree and doctorate in art history from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts,[5] which examined the genre paintings of Jan Steen.[6][5]

Academic and administrative career

She taught at Rutgers University in New Jersey and later became associate director for research and academic programmes at the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts.[5] She was director of NYU's Institute of Fine Arts in New York from 2002 and served as the founding provost of New York University Abu Dhabi from 2007 to 2010.[5]

Westermann joined the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New York City in 2010, eventually serving as executive vice president for programmes and research.[7] She returned to NYU Abu Dhabi as vice chancellor and chief executive from 2019 to 2024.[8][9]

Guggenheim Foundation

Westermann's appointment to the Guggenheim as its first female director was announced in November 2023,[2][10] an unusual selection also because her career had followed an unconventional museum-directorial path.[11][12]

As director and CEO, she oversees the Foundation, its New York museum and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, while working with the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and providing collaborative leadership for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project.[13][14][15][16]

In October 2025, Westermann joined directors of other international museums in a public declaration published by Le Monde supporting the institutional independence and public mission of the Louvre.[17]

Scholarship

Westermann's publications include:

  • A Worldly Art: The Dutch Republic, 1585–1718 (1996).[18]
  • The Amusements of Jan Steen: Comic Painting in the Seventeenth Century (1997).[19]
  • Rembrandt: Art and Ideas (2000).[20]
  • Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt (2001), an exhibition catalogue edited by Westermann.[21] Westermann served as lead curator of the associated exhibition,[22] which was presented at the Newark Museum from 30 September 2001 to 20 January 2002 and at the Denver Art Museum from 2 March to 26 May 2002.[23]
  • “After Iconography and Iconoclasm: Current Research in Netherlandish Art, 1566–1700” (2002), published in The Art Bulletin.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Small, Zachary (9 April 2026). "Melissa Chiu Exits Hirshhorn Museum to Lead Guggenheim". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 Pogrebin, Robin (20 November 2023). "Guggenheim Selects Director, First Woman to Lead the Museum Group". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Dafoe, Taylor (20 November 2023). "Guggenheim picks a leader from NYU Abu Dhabi as its next director". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Class of 1984". Williams College Archives. Williams College. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Director Named for Its Renowned Institute of Fine Arts". New York University. 2002. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Mariët Westermann appointed to Rijksmuseum Supervisory Board". Rijksmuseum. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  7. ↑ Gay, Malcolm (22 December 2015). "Peabody Essex Museum receives grant to support Native American fellowship". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Mariët Westermann Named Vice Chancellor of NYU Abu Dhabi". New York University. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "No room at the top: why are US boardrooms still so white?". The Guardian. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Guggenheim Museum Names the First Woman to Serve as Its Director". Artnet News. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Guggenheim Museum Names NYU Abu Dhabi Chief as New Director". Hyperallergic. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  12. ↑ "Dr. Mariët Westermann to Lead Guggenheim Museum and Foundation". ArtReview. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Mariët Westermann". Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Bedirian, Razmig (20 November 2023). "Guggenheim Foundation names NYUAD's Mariet Westermann as director and chief executive". The National. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  15. ↑ Gerlis, Melanie (18 March 2026). "The art market flocked to the Gulf. Then war broke out". Financial Times. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Domm, Patti (29 June 2026). "Guggenheim Abu Dhabi aims to become a cultural hub for the UAE, says CEO". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  17. ↑ "Museums are not strongholds nor vaults: Directors of the world's leading institutions voice support for Louvre Museum director". Le Monde. 27 October 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  18. ↑ Westermann, Mariët (1996). A Worldly Art: The Dutch Republic, 1585–1718. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 9780810927414.
  19. ↑ Westermann, Mariët (1997). The Amusements of Jan Steen: Comic Painting in the Seventeenth Century. Zwolle: Waanders. ISBN 9789040099151.
  20. ↑ Westermann, Mariët (2000). Rembrandt: Art and Ideas. London: Phaidon Press. ISBN 9780714838571.
  21. ↑ "Art & Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt". Denver Art Museum. 2001. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Mariët Westermann". Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Art & home: Dutch interiors in the age of Rembrandt". Bibliotheek Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed. Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  24. ↑ Westermann, Mariët (2002). "After Iconography and Iconoclasm: Current Research in Netherlandish Art, 1566–1700". The Art Bulletin. 84 (2): 351–372. doi:10.2307/3177273. JSTOR 3177273.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.