PITTSFIELD, MASS.- The Board of Trustees of the Berkshire Museum will work with the executive search firm Brent D. Glass, LLC, to identify candidates for Executive Director of the Museum.

The firm, led by Dr. Brent D. Glass, provides management consulting to museums, historic sites, and other cultural organizations, working with more than 60 cultural, historical, and educational organizations around the world. Dr. Glass is Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, which he led for nearly a decade. He is an author, television presence, and international speaker on cultural diplomacy and museum management.

“We are excited about working with the Berkshire Museum to find a strong, creative, and effective leader at an extraordinary moment for the museum and the community it serves,” said Dr. Glass.

The search, to replace Van Shields, who retired, is expected to take six to nine months. Dr. David Ellis is serving as Interim Executive Director. Brent Glass LLC was selected from among six firms the museum solicited for proposals.

“Dr. Glass brings to the Berkshire Museum deep knowledge, experience, and understanding of museums and what is needed from those who would lead them,” said Elizbeth McGraw, President of the Board of Trustees. “We are eager to continue the work of securing the museum’s future for our community.”

The Museum’s Board of Trustees also has decided that two works will be offered by Sotheby’s at the firm’s American Art auction on November 16th. The two works are Hunter in the Winter Wood, by George Henry Durrie, and The Last Arrow by Thomas Moran.

These two works are part of the second group of works offered for sale under the April 5, 2018 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s approval of the joint proposal of the Museum and the Office of the Attorney General (AGO). That agreement, approved by the SJC, authorized the sale of works to generate the $55 million the museum needs to create a sustainable endowment and fund needed renovations and repairs to the Museum’s more than 100-year-old building.