WEST PALM BEACH, FL.- The Norton Museum of Art announced the appointment of James Brayton Hall as Deputy Director. Hall, who will join the staff in April, comes to the Norton from the Providence Preservation Society (PPS), where he has served as Executive Director since 2010. Prior to that, Hall was Assistant Director of the Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), after serving for twenty years as Director of Campus Design and Exhibitions at RISD.

“I had the pleasure of working with James at RISD,” said Norton Executive Director Hope Alswang. “He has a deep understanding of all aspects of museum management, from both the administrative and curatorial perspectives. As the Norton continues to grow its engagement with our community and to expand its scholarly contributions to the field with more original exhibitions, James is the perfect addition to our staff.”

As Deputy Director, Hall will be responsible for all operational functions of the Museum, assuring an outstanding visitor experience from the moment of arrival at the Visitor Services area. He will be the intermediary between the Executive Director and the management of the Museum, overseeing exhibition design, building operations, security, and visitor services.

“I am thrilled to joining the Norton at this point in its history,” said James Brayton Hall. “Hope Alswang is a dynamic leader and I look forward to working with her as she continues to make the Norton a more vital presence in the community and a model for mid-sized museums.”

As Executive Director of the PPS, Hall grew membership and annual giving, cultivated the Society’s largest single gift in its 60-year history, and oversaw the planning process of the renovation of a 1769 Brick Schoolhouse.

At RISD, Hall taught graduate level seminars in curatorial practice, exhibition design, and 20th century design history. He curated the Exhibition Marcel Breuer: Architecture and Design and oversaw the design and installation of the Museum’s new Paula and Leonard Granoff Galleries of 20th Century Art and Design.

Hall holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Virginia, and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design. He is also a graduate of the Attingham Summer School, The Victorian Society Summer School, and the Harriet Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University. He now lectures extensively on topics related to Historic Preservation, and architectural history, with a special emphasis on architecture of the recent past.

Charles Stainback, the Norton’s current Deputy Director, will assume the directorship of the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania on March 22.