AKIRA SUWA / Staff Photographer
Timothy Rub, new director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, at the Great Stair Hall last night."I think he'll hit the ground running," said H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, who chairs the museum board.
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Art museum names Rub new director
Rub's appointment - he will be both director and CEO - became official at a June 18 board meeting, but the announcement was delayed until after the openings of the new wing in Cleveland and of an exhibition there that honors former director Sherman E. Lee, revered in Cleveland much as d'Harnoncourt was in Philadelphia.
Rub said that no contract had yet been signed with the Philadelphia museum, but that he expected the initial deal to cover three years.
He declined to say what his salary would be, referring the question to the museum's spokesman; the museum's spokesman referred the question to Lenfest; Lenfest declined to say what the salary would be, citing Rub's request to keep it confidential.
D'Harnoncourt earned a base salary of $326,397 in the year that ended June 2007, according to the museum's tax returns. Rub had recently taken a 15 percent reduction in his $400,000 salary at the Cleveland museum, which, like others, has struggled with a downturn in the market value of its endowment.
Rub joins the museum on the heels of its winning a Golden Lion for best national pavilion in the prestigious Venice Biennale; as it is dealing with a financial contraction that has led to layoffs and program reductions; and while it continues to plan and raise money for an extensive restoration and expansion.
And yet, though a scheme by the Frank Gehry firm for new architectural features and a substantial reorganization of exhibition spaces is well under way, Rub said he expected to have an impact on the project and how it fits into the museum's broad-brush strategy.
"My understanding of the long-range plan is that the current one was prepared a few years ago, and it won't be too long before we sit down and revisit that," he said. "There's a lot that's already firmly in place, and it's the job of a director to guide things. While the general direction is clear, there is a great deal of latitude for a director and an important role to play in that."
Architectural projects are familiar ground for Rub, not only because of the recent work by Rafael Viñoly's firm at the Cleveland Museum, but also because of his own background. Before becoming a museum director 18 years ago, his areas of scholarly pursuit were architectural history and modern and contemporary art.
He received a bachelor's degree in art history from Middlebury College in Vermont; a master's in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University; and a master's in public and private management from Yale University. Before Cleveland, he was, for six years, director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, and before that, from 1991 to 1999, director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College.
One of his major achievements at Cincinnati was the elimination of admission fees, a decision made possible with funding from a special grant. The Cleveland Museum of Art is also free, while the Philadelphia Museum of Art this week will raise its admission by $2 to $16 for adults and reduce its pay-what-you-will Sundays to one a month.
Rub also has worked as a curator - at New York's Cooper Hewitt Museum, from 1983 to 1987, where he organized a highly praised exhibition on the work of Joseph Urban, the multifaceted Vienna-born architect and designer of theatrical sets, furniture, and decorative objects.
His sympathies, Sachs predicted, will make him a good fit with the culture of the Philadelphia museum.
"I think it will turn out that he will be the curators' first choice in terms of an ability to understand their needs and match them with realities. In that respect, Anne made everyone feel good about what they were doing, and I am convinced he will do that - which for me is very important."
Rub says that while he no longer is an active curator, he feels his role as director includes the development of exhibitions.
"My own preference, particularly with exhibitions and installations, is to get involved early on in the conceptual level - what is it about? What will it contribute to the field? How can we make it engaging to the public? What do we want to come out of it with in terms of research and publications? - to help shape the scope and character of the project early on. And to make sure it has the resources it needs."
On that last point - raising money - Rub says the "key for me has always been: Are you passionate about what you are asking people to support? If you believe in the thing you are talking to people about helping, whether it is education or an acquisition or the fabric of the building, people are going to be moved by the passion and the value they perceive to the community and the mission of the institution."
Two Museums: Key Facts
Founded
Philadelphia Museum of Art: 1877
Cleveland Museum of Art: 1916
