Metropolitan Museum’s Associate Director for Exhibitions, Jennifer Russell, to Retire

(New York, September 21, 2015)—Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced that Jennifer Russell—who has been the Museum’s Associate Director for Exhibitions since 2010, and who worked previously at the Met as Associate Director for Collections and Administration (1993-96)—will retire at the end of December. Beginning in January, she will serve as a consultant to the Museum.

“Jennifer is a great champion of our curators and their vision,” said Mr. Campbell. “She is loved by artists and scholars—for her profound understanding and respect for works of art, her trademark humor, and her straightforward way of getting things done. When I first worked with her in the 1990s on establishing the Antonio Ratti Textile Center, I marveled at her ability to navigate all of the complexities of the project. Over the years, she has come through for the Met again and again. We are grateful that Jennifer will now continue to share her formidable expertise and experience with us as a consultant, particularly in the months ahead, as we lead up to the March opening of The Met Breuer.”

Jennifer Russell began her museum career in 1974 at the Whitney Museum of American Art as a curatorial assistant and was promoted over several years to become Associate Director and Secretary (1986-90) and Acting Director. While there, she organized exhibitions including American Art, 1900-1960 (1993), American Folk Painters of Three Centuries (1980), and Celebrating Calder (1991). 

As Associate Director for Administration at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1993 to 1996, she worked closely with all departments reporting to Director Philippe de Montebello, including curatorial, conservation, publications, and the libraries. During that time, she coordinated a wide range of projects, including construction and space planning for major gallery renovations and other capital projects, and the computerization of collection data.

In 1996, she began working at The Museum of Modern Art as Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Collections Support, and in 2005 became Senior Deputy Director for Exhibitions, Collections, and Programs, overseeing the exhibition program of approximately 30 exhibitions per year. She returned to the Metropolitan Museum in 2010, to take on the position of Associate Director for Exhibitions under Mr. Campbell. In this capacity, she has led the Met’s broad program of groundbreaking loan exhibitions and installations that highlight aspects of the Museum’s vast encyclopedic collection.

An international search for her successor at the Metropolitan Museum is now underway.