NEW BRITAIN, CONN.- Douglas Hyland, who has led the New Britain Museum of American Art through two expansions, will retire as NBMAA’s director following the completion of the new addition, which is expected in the fall, 2015. Hyland announced his decision at a meeting of the Board of Trustees, October 22, 2014 and at the Annual Meeting of the Membership, immediately following.

Hyland became the NBMAA’s fifth director in October, 1999, following several other museum directorships including the San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX; the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL; and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN.

He is credited with growing the Museum, founded in 1903, in every conceivable way: collections more than tripled to over 14,000, docents from 35 to 117, memberships from 1,500 to 3,800, staff from 19 to 46, and the endowment from $9 million to $21 million. NBMAA Chairman Todd Stitzer will lead a search to find Hyland’s successor.

“Over the last 15 years it has been a pleasure expanding the Museum’s collection dramatically and providing a building that is so conducive to our appreciation of American Art,” said Hyland. Through aggressive programming and excellent changing exhibitions we have greatly expanded our audience. I have relished the opportunity to work with such a talented staff and so many exceptional volunteers who have contributed so much to the transformation of the Museum since 1999. I look forward to the completion of the new wing in the fall of next year and raising the remaining 6 million dollars to successfully conclude our capital campaign.”

Hyland oversaw a $27 million expansion that in 2006 realized the 43,000 sq. ft. Chase Family Building and renovation of the Landers House to public and critical acclaim, creating a first class facility that the permanent collection richly deserved. In the ensuing years, the Museum blossomed with burgeoning exhibitions, programs and events. Visitation – 35,000 in earlier years, topped 96,000 this year.

He is presently leading the Museum through a second major campaign, the $22 million Art & Education Expansion that will see the construction of a three-story, 17,346 sq. ft. addition, with seven new galleries, three new art studios, a reinstallation of the permanent collection, increased parking facilities and further endowment growth. With the addition’s completion, scheduled for September 2015, the Museum will have tripled in size.

Hyland, who hails from Salem, MA, holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Delaware. He has served as chair or board member for numerous cultural and civic organizations across the country and is a longtime peer reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums, the Museum’s accrediting body. During his career he curated hundreds of exhibitions, authored countless scholarly articles and essays and lectured widely.

Chairman Stitzer stated, “Douglas Hyland’s impact on the New Britain Museum of American Art and, indeed, on the arts in Connecticut has been immense and impressive. Douglas has put New Britain on the map from an art perspective by attracting major exhibits and collections, creating hundreds of programs and events, and attracting thousands of visitors, including several thousand school children to the Museum’s educational programs. We will miss his energy, his intellect and his excellent taste and wish him well on his retirement.”

Under Hyland’s direction the Museum initiated over 30 high-profile exhibitions featuring the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany, M.C. Escher, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec among others. The NBMAA also acquired works of art ranging from the 18th to 21st centuries by such noted artists as Nicholas Cave, Adolph Gottlieb, Walton Ford, Nobu Fukui, and Graydon Parrish. An outdoor sculpture garden was developed on the Museum’s property, now numbering 25, with two sculptures placed in the adjoining Walnut Hill Park. Additional works from the NBMAA collection are also on view in the Police Station, New Britain Public Library, the Hospital of Central Connecticut and the Hospital for Special Care and at various corporate headquarters including Stanley Black & Decker.

Hyland has led collaborations with cultural, educational and medical organizations in the region including a consortium of seven art museums in the state that realized the first ever line item in the state budget.

Upon retirement, Hyland and his wife Tita, who is a professor of art at Trinity College, plan to travel, read, teach, and enjoy time with friends and family.