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The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) has appointed Adam M. Levine to be the next Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey director of the Museum. Levine returns to TMA from the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida, where he is currently the George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs director and chief executive officer. Prior to his post at the Cummer Museum, which began in October 2018, Levine served in several roles at TMA since 2013, most recently as deputy director and curator of ancient art. Levine will begin his directorship at TMA on May 1, 2020.

“Leading the distinguished Toledo Museum of Art during this exciting next chapter of its rich and inspiring history is a dream come true,” said Levine. “It is particularly meaningful to rejoin the outstanding executive team, staff and board of directors at TMA, which have been so instrumental in my museum training, and to reconnect with the Museum’s members and the community it serves.”

Previously at TMA, Levine held the titles of associate director, overseeing management of the Collections, Marketing Communications, Education and Information Systems departments, as well as maintaining responsibility for all curatorial activities related to ancient art; assistant director; and head of Visitor Engagement. Levine originally joined TMA in 2013, when he was named an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, a two-year post-doctoral program designed to prepare the next generation of museum leaders. Prior to the Mellon Fellowship, Levine was a collections management assistant in the department of Greek and Roman art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

During his tenure at TMA, Levine was one of a four-person senior management team with oversight of the $16 million budget and a staff of 250 employees. He also helped lead the steering committee in development of the Museum’s first campus master plan, partnered with city government officials throughout the expansion of the Museum campus with the acquisition of several strategic parcels and was a member of the Polishing the Gem endowment campaign team that raised funds in excess of $43 million between 2014 and 2017.

Levine’s broad curatorial portfolio at TMA encompassed organizing numerous exhibitions, including The Mummies: From Egypt to Toledo (2018); The Berlin Painter and His World: Athenian Vase-Painting in the Early Fifth Century B.C. (2017); Glorious Splendor: Treasures of Early Christian Art (2017); I Approve This Message: Decoding Political Ads (2016); and InSight: Contemporary Sensory Work (2014). He also helped the Museum secure major acquisitions and noteworthy loans of ancient, medieval, African, modern and contemporary art to enhance TMA’s collections and exhibitions.

At the Cummer Museum, Levine has guided several key initiatives, including the reconstruction of its gardens after a devastating hurricane in 2017, the expansion of educational offerings through the introduction of art classes and a scholarship program, the endowment of two curatorial positions, and the development of an innovative new membership model for engaging school-aged children and their families. Over the course of the year, Levine raised more than $11 million and increased attendance and membership by 20 percent.

Levine graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College, where he majored in anthropology, art history and mathematics & social science. He continued his studies as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he earned his master’s degree with distinction and D.Phil. in the history of art. He publishes widely and is a frequent presenter on topics ranging from ancient art and interpretive strategies, to museum and management practices.

Combining his interests in mathematics and art, in 2009 he co-founded Art Research Technologies, a data and research company that was sold to a London-based finance firm in 2017. He has previously consulted for several departments at Sotheby’s and for Art & Auction Magazine, for which he provided quantitative analysis of the art market. Levine has performed additional consulting work for domestic and international museums, universities, foundations and think tanks domestically and internationally.

“We look forward to welcoming Adam back into the TMA family as the Museum’s 10th director,” said Randy Oostra, chair of the Museum’s board and co-chair of the director search committee. “His outstanding leadership, deep scholarly and operational expertise and proven strategic vision for the institution will ensure its vital engagement within our community and region, while continuing to advance the Museum’s curatorial and programmatic excellence in the field.”

Also serving as co-chair of the director search committee was former TMA board chair Betsy Brady. Brady was chair of the Museum’s board of directors from 2008 through 2012.

TMA’s previous director, Brian Kennedy, departed after nine years at the end of June 2019 to take the helm at the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.  SOURCE