GLENS FALLS, NY.- The Hyde Collection announced the appointment of Erin B. Coe as its new director. Ms. Coe earned a national reputation as an American art historian and curator who spearheaded The Hyde Collections widely acclaimed Georgia OKeeffe exhibition in 2013.
We are absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to bring Erin Coe back to The Hyde, said Tenee R. Casaccio, chair of the Hyde Board of Trustees. Erins energetic and passionate leadership, her scholarship and knowledge of The Hyde, her reputation in the art world and her strong relationships with donors and collectors will help The Hyde strengthen its ties to the community and its reputation as one of the Northeasts leading small art museums.
Erins leadership on the Georgia OKeeffe exhibition was transformative for The Hyde, Ms. Casaccio said. She has a rare gift both for understanding the historical and cultural context of art and making it very popular and accessible for all audiences.
Ms. Coe was the chief curator of The Hyde until she left in 2014 to complete her doctoral degree in the history of art and architecture at Boston University. She also served as the museums interim co-director. She returns as successor to Charles Guerin, who has served as The Hydes director for the last two years. Ms. Coe assumes her new duties in July.
I am honored by this wonderful opportunity to lead The Hyde and work with the talented staff and dedicated Board of Trustees to advance and strengthen the organization. Together, we will focus on ways to invigorate The Hyde, connecting to all visitors and inviting greater community engagement, Ms. Coe said. I am excited to continue the work of the museums founder, Charlotte Hyde, who believed art can changes lives.
Ms. Coe organized the first-of-its-kind OKeeffe and Lake George exhibition in association with the Georgia OKeeffe Museum in 2013. The exhibition brought together from public and private collections 58 paintings created by the artist between 1918 and 1934, the years when she summered at Lake George with famed American photographer Alfred Stieglitz and his family. Ms. Coe co-authored the book Modern Nature: Georgia OKeeffe and Lake George, which presented groundbreaking scholarship that shed new light on this iconic American artist.
The exhibition drew national media coverage, rave reviews on social media sites, and record-breaking attendance at The Hyde. It traveled to the Georgia OKeeffe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., and the De Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco where it closed in 2014.
The OKeeffe exhibition is one of her many accomplishments. During her 15-year tenure at The Hyde, she was responsible for the care, research, interpretation, and growth of the museums permanent collection of European and American art. She has curated and/or co-curated 38 exhibitions including Picturing Gentility: Portraits of Women in American Art;Painting Lake George, 1774-1900; Adolph Gottlieb: 1956; An Enduring Legacy: American Impressionist Landscape Paintings from the Thomas Clark Collection, and was instrumental in overseeing Andrew Wyeth: An American Legend and Degas & Music, two of the most popular exhibitions in the museums history.
Ms. Coe also oversaw the interior restoration of Hyde House, the former Italian Renaissance style home of Museum founders Louis and Charlotte Hyde in 2004. She is the author and/or co-author of over a dozen publications and has contributed articles to several national art periodicals including the American Art Review, The Magazine Antiques, and theCatalogue of Antiques and Fine Art.
Ms. Coe serves on the advisory board of American Women Artists and has served on the board of several cultural organizations including the de Blasiis Chamber Museum Series, the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association in Bolton, and the Lake George Arts Project.
Ms. Coe, who grew up in Glen Ridge, N.J., earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of New Mexico and a master of arts degree from the University at Albany. She attended the Attingham Summer School for the Study of Architecture, Fine, and Decorative Arts in the U.K., and is in the final stage of completing her doctorate from Boston University.