Last June, Jessie Otto Hite made the decision to retire as director of the Blanton Museum of Art, drawing a close to her 15-year run in the position and a full 28 years on the staff of the University of Texas art museum. That leaves some sizable shoes to fill, but UT is confident that Associate Director Ann Wilson, who has been with the museum since May 2004, is up to the job. This week, Wilson was appointed interim director of the Blanton, effective immediately. “Ann Wilson’s long professional experience with art museums and her familiarity with the Blanton make her uniquely qualified to see the museum through a seamless interim period while the College of Fine Arts seeks the next great director of the Blanton,” says Douglas Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts.
Before she came to the Blanton, Wilson spent seven years managing marketing and visitor services for the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Md. She developed successful marketing campaigns for the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the largest art museum in the Southeast, during her five-year post as manager of public relations and marketing. Since arriving in Austin, she has served on the core curriculum development committee for the Portfolio in Museum Studies program, currently in its pilot stage at UT’s College of Fine Arts. Last year, she was appointed peer reviewer for the American Association of Museums. “It’s quite an honor to be entrusted with the temporary oversight of this amazing museum,” Wilson says.
This article appears in February 15 • 2008.