EAST LANSING, MI.- Dr. Susan J. Bandes, Director, Kresge Art Museum at Michigan State University , was elected to membership in the Print Council of America at the Board of Directors semi-annual meeting, held November 6, 2009 in New York . This non-profit, professional organization is comprised of 230 print specialists from the United States and Canada among them curators, university professors, conservators, librarians, scholars and representatives of collections of works on paper.

Founded in 1956, the Print Council of America’s mission is to raise the visibility of printmaking as a fine art medium and to professionalize the preservation, administration, and study of print collections. The Council is a forum to share ideas, debate issues, and present updates on projects and recent acquisitions. Dr. Bandes says of her election, “I am flattered to be invited to join this organization. During my time at the Kresge Art Museum , I have overseen the expansion of the print collection from old masters to contemporary examples. Prints comprise about half of the collection and they have become a research interest of mine. The Print Council recognizes my expertise in this specialized area and I look forward to learning and sharing my passion with colleagues.”

Kresge Art Museum is home to Michigan State University ’s collection of over 7,500 art objects; approximately 3,800 are prints of all types (woodcuts, etchings, engravings, silk screens and lithographs). Major artists from Dürer and Rembrandt to Paul Cézanne and Marcel Duchamp to more recently Jasper Johns, Chuck Close, Richard Diebenkorn, and Takashi Murakami are among those represented. Prints from the museum collection regularly rotate in the galleries, and exhibitions that highlight specific artists or art historical movements frequently change.