MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.- David Gordon, who has been Secretary of London’s Royal Academy of Arts for the past six years, will succeed Russell Bowman as Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum.  Bowman is leaving this month to start an art consultancy business in Chicago.  Gordon will start in October.



"The Board of Trustees is thrilled that David was available and Milwaukee got him.  Our Museum and community should feel proud and be excited that he is joining us," said Milwaukee Art Museum Board of Trustees President Donald Baumgartner.  "The trustees believe that his combination of strengths will greatly benefit the Museum as it continues to grow in audience size, stature and profile during the next several years.  David has a very strong record as an administrator and innovator, greatly enhancing the organizations he has run.  While at the Royal Academy, David worked with some of the world’s most outstanding curators, as well as fundraisers.  He and his wife Maggi will bring us their lifelong commitment to the arts.  I believe David will raise the profile of our Museum to become one of the most distinguished in the nation."

"I look forward with great pleasure to directing one of America’s most exciting museums.  The new Calatrava addition is one of the wonders of contemporary architecture and will be a magnet for Milwaukee.  The Milwaukee Art Museum has grown dramatically in the last few years, and it will be an exciting challenge to build on this base of accomplishment," Gordon said. "My wife Maggi, who is American, and I also look forward to living and working in a city as vibrant and as pleasant as Milwaukee." Gordon became Secretary of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1996 when the Academy was looking for a candidate who not only understood the world of arts, but could also apply strong management techniques. The Royal Academy is one of England’s great historic arts organizations.  It was founded by direct act of George III in 1768 to promote an appreciation of fine art and architecture and to raise the profile of English artists and architects.  The Royal Academy still carries out these objectives through exhibitions, a graduate art school, an active education program and the permanent collection of paintings, sculptures and books.  Gordon built a very strong staff and greatly increased financial support and stability.    The reputation of the Royal Academy has been changed from stuffy to innovative as demonstrated by the decision to stay open 24 hours during the closing of the Monet exhibition in 1999.  During the past four years, of the temporary exhibitions in London which have attracted more than 100,000 visitors, more than half have been at the Royal Academy.  New sources of revenue have also been created, including the establishment of an in-house art book publishers, and new affiliate patron groups for supporters.    Gordon has been a trustee of the Architecture Foundation (1991-2001), a governor of the British Film Institute (1982-1992), a board member of South Bank Centre (1988-1996); a trustee of the Tate Gallery (1993-1998), and chairman of the Contemporary Art Society (1992-1998).    He was born in London, England.  He is a graduate of Balliol College, Oxford, and did graduate work at the London School of Economics. Gordon began his career as a financial journalist and became an assistant editor for The Economist.  In 1978 he went into management and three years later was named CEO.  In 1982 he attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.    In his 12 years as CEO of The Economist circulation world-wide went up from 180,000 to 500,000 and profit rose from $500,000 in 1981/82 to $22m in 1993/94.



Gordon’s wife Maggi was  born and raised in Mississippi.  She has worked in publishing in London and is a writer on quilts and quilting.  The Gordons have two sons, the younger at university in England.  The elder is in the music business in Los Angeles. Current Milwaukee Art Museum Executive Director Christopher Goldsmith has announced he will retire from the Museum effective September 30 after serving in that role for the past 20 years.  He will continue as a consultant to the Museum, ensuring a smooth leadership transition.  The Milwaukee Art Museum includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in October 2001 and named by Time magazine "Best Design of 2001"; renovated and reinstalled permanent collection galleries; and elegant public gardens designed by noted landscape architect Dan Kiley.



The Museum’s 2001 expansion provided a 30-percent increase in overall gallery space, enhanced educational and public programming facilities, and expanded public amenities.  During the first year following the opening of its new addition, more than 505,000 visited the Museum, compared with 165,000 in each of the two prior years.

Presently, the Museum’s major focus is on its fall exhibition Leonardo da Vinci and the Splendor of Poland: A History of Collecting and Patronage, an exhibition of 77 paintings from public and private collections in Poland opening September 13.