Clark Art's Loughman Leaving for Connecticut Museum Post
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Thomas J. Loughman, the associate director of Program and Planning at the Clark Art Institute, has been named the 11th director and CEO of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford.
The announcement was made Thursday and came following an international search of 80 candidates and an unanimous decision by the Board of Trustees.
Loughman will begin work at the Wadsworth Atheneum on Feb. 1, 2016.
"The opportunity to lead America's oldest continuously-operating art museum during this pivotal moment is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I embrace wholeheartedly. I am excited to be part of the distinguished tradition of leadership at the Wadsworth Atheneum, and to get to work with the impressive and accomplished professional staff at the museum," Loughman said. "I am also eager for my family to become active in the fabric of a new community and contribute to the future of the museum and Hartford, a city that has so much to offer through its revered academic institutions and strong cultural history.
In the last seven years at the Clark, one of only a few institutions in the United States that is both a museum and a center for research and scholarship in the visual arts, Loughman spearheaded several initiatives aimed at raising awareness of the museum and its collections on a global spectrum. He was the driving force behind the museum's first international touring exhibition, "Great French Paintings from the Clark," which brought the heart of that institution's collections to more than 3.5 million visitors at 11 sites in Europe, North America and Asia. That project enabled a series of exchange relationships that Loughman stewarded with major international institutions, including the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid and the Shanghai Museum.
Loughman also devoted time researching the Clark's pre-history, tracing the historical record of museum founder Sterling Clark's 1908 expedition through China, while making connections with China's present-day museum leaders. His efforts paved the way for Clark-exclusive exhibitions that brought artifacts from China to the United States for the first time, including "Unearthed: Recent Archaeological Discoveries from Northern China," (2012), "Cast for Eternity: Ancient Ritual Bronzes from the Shanghai Museum" (2014) and the Clark's own showcase of its founder's expedition, "Through Shên-kan: Sterling Clark in China" (2012), which Loughman curated for the Clark. Recently, Loughman led the launch of an exchange program to bring Chinese museum professionals to the United States for training in American museum practices, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Loughman currently serves on the Board of Directors for the U.S. National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-US), and is involved with both the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD).
In addition to these special assignments, Loughman oversaw earned revenue activities at the Clark, directed its publications program, led strategic planning efforts and institutional reorganization and played a key role in the Clark's recent award-winning campus expansion program. He also served as a member of the Clark's management team, budget review committee and financial leadership group.
Also paramount to his time at the Clark was Loughman's leadership in a number of civic and community associations in Williamstown and the Berkshires region.He served as Vice President and President of the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce during a period of strategic planning, was part of a task force for the Town of Williamstown Economic Development Committee, and was active in mentoring students and young professionals entering the field through his work with the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art Advisory Board and the Berkshire Hills Internship Program (BHip).
"During his tenure at the Clark, Tom spearheaded a number of important initiatives resulting in the expansion of the Institute's curatorial programs and other national and international projects," said Michael Conforti, former director of the Clark Art Institute. "Tom has the creativity and commitment, as well as the financial acumen, to link the Wadsworth Atheneum's extraordinary collections with the Hartford community in innovative and imaginative ways. I know Tom will work tirelessly to harness the new energy in Hartford and the surrounding region to see that the Atheneum contributes to this revitalization."
Loughman holds a Ph.D. in Art History from Rutgers University, a M.A. from the Clark/Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art and an A.B. from Georgetown University. He is a J. William Fulbright Fellow, a Samuel H. Kress Foundation Travel Fellow, a Rutgers University Dissertation Fellow and a Rutgers University Excellence Fellow. Loughman also attended the Museum Leadership Institute at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, Calif. in 2008.
Loughman will relocate to the Hartford area with his wife, Sara, and two young daughters.
Loughman replaces outgoing Director and C.E.O. Susan L. Talbott upon her retirement from the post. Talbott departs following a major, $33 million renovation of the Wadsworth Atheneum's historic campus-which received wide, international acclaim-and leaving a legacy of commitment to community engagement.
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