CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.- Director of Terra Museum of American Art, Elizabeth Glassman, today announced the promotion of Associate Curator Elizabeth Kennedy to Curator. Kennedy has worked with the museum’s curatorial staff for the past three years. She began her career at Terra Museum of American Art two years ago as a curatorial researcher and was later promoted to Associate Curator.



"Elizabeth brings to this position a deep knowledge of the Terra Foundation for the Arts collection and a profound commitment to enlarging the understanding of American art," said Glassman in announcing this promotion.  "Since she arrived, Elizabeth has worked with the curatorial teams in Chicago and in our sister museum in Giverny to organize numerous exhibitions focusing attention on the extraordinary collection that is our charge. As Curator, Elizabeth has not only the expertise, but the enthusiasm and passion to help expand the understanding of American art."



As Curator of Terra Museum of American Art, Kennedy will oversee the Terra Foundation for the Arts collection of more than 700 important works of American art from the Colonial era to WWII.  Kennedy, an American art scholar, will employ her expertise as part of her responsibilities in selecting and organizing exhibitions.



"I look forward to advancing the momentum that has been gained by the professional staff under the leadership of Director Elizabeth Glassman," said Kennedy. "Through my new position, I hope to increase the public’s knowledge and understanding of American art by providing not only aesthetically pleasing exhibitions, but also ones that place the works of art in a richly developed context."



Since joining the museum, Kennedy has presided over the presentation of several notable exhibitions, including Culture Revisited: Samuel F.B. Morse’s Gallery of the Louvre, on view through November 3, 2002. This exhibition contrasts Samuel F.B. Morse’s masterpiece Gallery of the Louvre with a selection of early American paintings from the Terra Foundation for the Arts collection to consider why and how American art developed. Additionally, Kennedy is the Curator of Terra Museum of American Art’s anniversary exhibition, A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, which traces the evolution of the Terra Foundation for the Arts collection. On view November 16, 2002 through February 16, 2003, this unprecedented exhibition of Terra Foundation for the Arts works will fill the entire museum and will explore the significant events that introduced the art collection of Daniel J. Terra (1911-1996) to the public. Kennedy has also contributed to the landmark publication, An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, with the essay "A Patriotic Muse: The History of the Daniel J. Terra Collection and the Terra Museum of American Art."



Before joining Terra Museum of American Art, Kennedy worked with museums and collections in Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Great Falls, Montana and Washington, D.C. Additionally, she has written numerous articles for art journals and has given many public lectures. Kennedy holds master’s degrees in both Business and Art History from the University of Pittsburgh, and is expected to complete her Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania this upcoming year.



In conjunction with this appointment, Shelly Roman, has been promoted from Curatorial Assistant to Assistant Curator. Roman is expected to complete her master’s degree in Art History from the University of Illinois at Chicago this upcoming year. She will work closely with Kennedy on researching collection objects and organizing exhibitions. "I am pleased with this appointment and look forward to the opportunities it provides as Elizabeth and I continue to work together," said Roman.