The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has named an art museum veteran to be its next leader. <\/p>\n
Kristen Shepherd will become president and CEO of the oldest art museum and school in the U.S. effective Feb. 9, PAFA announced Thursday.<\/p>\n
Shepherd was executive director of the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Fla. for more than 5 \u00bd years, and previously held posts at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. <\/p>\n
She takes over PAFA as it faces financial challenges, remakes aspects of the institution, and prepares to co-host a major show this spring<\/a> featuring works from the collection of Phillies managing partner John Middleton<\/a> and his wife, Leigh.<\/p>\n Shepherd, 54, said that she had a \u201clong-standing love affair with PAFA and its mission\u201d that began when she was studying art history at the George Washington University, where she earned her bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in art history. <\/p>\n \u201cI remember learning about PAFA as a student and just being absolutely floored at the idea of it. The fact that the founders, at the birth of our country practically, made an extraordinary statement about the importance of the fine arts in our young country that continues today.\u201d<\/p>\n Facing a $3 million deficit and enrollment numbers that had shrunk by about half since 2017, PAFA announced in January 2024 that it would be ending its degree programs<\/a> at the end of the 2024-25 school year. This past fall it launched a new certificate program<\/a> that leaders hoped would net more income.<\/p>\n The institution \u2014 which was founded in 1805 \u2014 began drawing more heavily on its endowment than industry guidelines suggest is prudent. To boost revenue, it has marketed rental of its artmaking facilities and spaces in the Hamilton building to outside groups. <\/p>\n Last summer, PAFA shut down its historic N. Broad St. museum building<\/a> for a year to replace the HVAC system and make other improvements, and leaders have been stumping for a donation in exchange for naming rights to the building.<\/p>\n PAFA\u2019s previous president and CEO, Eric G. Pryor, stepped down<\/a> more than a year ago, and the museum and school has been run by a team of three administrators in the interim. <\/p>\n Last fall, PAFA and Temple University<\/a> announced a new affiliation<\/a> whereby Temple leases the 10th floor of PAFA\u2019s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, bringing PAFA much-needed revenue. The Center City<\/a> site gives Temple a home for new programs, including one a curatorial studies certificate program. It also gives students access to PAFA\u2019s artmaking equipment and its important collection of American art.<\/p>\n Shepherd says not only was she familiar with PAFA\u2019s challenges and ongoing retooling, but they were a factor in her interest in the post.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s actually attractive to me rather than being daunting,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to be thought through and analyzed, from risk assessments to financial stability and how to create the right financial scenario for the institution\u2019s longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n Elliot Clark, a PAFA trustee and co-chair of the search committee, said that in Shepherd PAFA had found someone who can \u201cexpand membership and bring in new donors, new participants into the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Clark said Shepherd\u2019s \u201cvery keen financial mind\u201d impressed PAFA\u2019s leaders during the hiring process.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was a business analyst at Sotheby\u2019s, and one of her roles was in strategic operations, and she\u2019s very financially savvy. So she made us dance during the Q&A about financials.\u201d<\/p>\n Clark called her \u201cincredibly diplomatic \u2014 she\u2019s a really talented communicator. She\u2019s going to be a great ambassador both locally and nationally to the art community and the Philadelphia community.” <\/p>\n \u201cAnd you know,\u201d he said, \u201cwe\u2019re not always an easy city to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n Shepherd led St. Petersburg\u2019s relatively small Museum of Fine Arts (with a $6 million annual budget) from 2016 through 2022, and has run an arts consultancy<\/a> since then with business partner Veronica Lane. At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, she was associate vice president, head of audience strategy services. And, for 4 \u00bd years before that, she was director of the membership and annual fund program at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She worked at Sotheby\u2019s for 9 \u00bd years in a variety of positions on the business side.<\/p>\n Her first few months at PAFA promise to be eventful. Clark says work on the Furness and Hewitt-designed museum building is on budget and on time; it is slated for a reopening celebration April 10. \u201cA Nation of Artists\u201d opens April 12. <\/p>\n