Roscoe, who ascended through the ranks over more than two decades at the Salem museum, will step down from her role at PEM at the end of June. Kurt Steinberg, the museum\u2019s chief operating officer and director of collection services, will serve as acting executive director starting July 1. The museums board of trustees will launch a search for her permanent successor in the coming months. <\/p>\n
Hartigan, meanwhile, will start on September 8 at SAAM, one of 21 museums in the Smithsonian Institution\u2019s sprawling cultural complex. <\/p>\n
\u201cLynda is a visionary leader whose career reflects a deep commitment to American art, thoughtful scholarship and public engagement,\u201d Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, said in a statement. \u201cHaving begun her career at the Smithsonian, she returns with deep curatorial knowledge and substantial experience that will guide the museum in the years ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hartigan, who served as chief curator at SAAM before arriving at the Salem museum in 2003, said it was poignant to leave the museum where she\u2019s spent the bulk of her career for the museum where she got her start. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started as director at PEM, my message was that I\u2019m coming to lead the museum forward,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is my message in relation to physically returning to Washington and SAAM: I\u2019m coming to lead this marvelous museum forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hartigan, who first served as chief curator at PEM, was appointed deputy director in 2016, and, following a brief stint at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, returned to lead the museum<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n Over more than two decades, she played a pivotal role in many aspects of the Salem museum. An expert in the work of Joseph Cornell, Hartigan oversaw interpretation and re-installation of the museum\u2019s new wing<\/a>. She guided the museum\u2019s exhibition program, and launched new collecting and programmatic areas, including photography, American art, contemporary art, and fashion. <\/p>\n \u201cLynda has been an inspiring change agent whose ability to gather people around art, experiences, and multidisciplinary ideas has expanded PEM\u2019s leadership in creativity, innovation, and the visitor experience,\u201d Jennifer Borggaard, chair of PEM\u2019s board of trustees, said in a statement. \u201cWe will miss her greatly, and are proud that she will now bring her visionary energy to SAAM and the Smithsonian, our country\u2019s national cultural complex.\u201d<\/p>\n Hartigan, who will take over at SAAM from acting director Jane Carpenter-Rock, arrives at a complicated moment for the Washington museum. SAAM\u2019s previous director, Stephanie Stebich, was removed from the role in 2024 amid staff complaints<\/a> about her leadership style. <\/p>\n The Trump administration has also pressured the Smithsonian to present a more sanitized version of American history, accusing it in an executive order<\/a> of promoting \u201cnarratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.\u201d <\/p>\n In roughly a year, directors at three Smithsonian museums have announced their departures, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. <\/p>\n Nevertheless, SAAM houses one of the world\u2019s outstanding collections of American art, with particular strengths in New Deal-era work, contemporary craft, and American impressionism. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fact of the matter is that the art and the craft that has been created, and the visual culture of Americans, is something that people can really turn to for inspiration, hope, and insight,\u201d she said. \u201cThe integrity with which that has been at the core mission of the Smithsonian, and, by extension, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, is something that I really look forward to upholding.\u201d<\/p>\n