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12/1/2011 Houston – The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, today announced that Gary Tinterow has been named as its seventh director. Tinterow, an internationally recognized curator and scholar who is currently the Engelhard Chairman of the Department of Nineteenth- Century, Modern and Contemporary Art at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, succeeds the late Peter C. Marzio, who died in December 2010. Tinterow will assume his new role in early 2012.

“Gary Tinterow has built an impeccable record of
scholarship and connoisseurship over several decades in his
field, and he has achieved an extraordinary level of
leadership within one of the world’s most renowned
institutions,” Cornelia Long, chair of the board of the
MFAH, said in announcing the appointment. “These
qualities, along with his commitment to engaging a broad
range of audiences through innovative programming and
partnerships, are essential to the future of the Museum of
Fine Arts, Houston.”

“Without question Gary Tinterow is the leader to guide the
MFAH through the evolving complexities of what it means
to be a museum of the 21st century,” commented Richard D.
Kinder, chair of the search committee and long-range
planning committee of the MFAH. “With the MFAH poised
for its next phase of growth, and an expansion devoted to
post-1900 art, his proven curatorial, leadership, fundraising
and planning skills will assure the museum’s future success.”

“I feel deeply honored to be invited to join one of the most distinguished institutions in the country,” said Tinterow. “With its nearly unparalleled resources – passionate, experienced and
knowledgeable trustees; a large and well-informed audience in a dynamic community; a fine collection with great strengths in many domains; remarkable and dedicated staff and volunteers;
and the ability to mount ambitious programs while maintaining fiscal stability – the MFAH is perfectly positioned to become one of the best museums in the world. And, needless to say, I am thrilled to be returning to Houston, my hometown.”
For twenty years, Tinterow, 58, served as curator of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before becoming curator in charge of the newly formed department of

Nineteenth-Century, Modern and Contemporary Art in 2004 and chairman of that department in 2008. He has organized dozens of acclaimed exhibitions, accompanied by significant Gary Tinterow, newly appointed director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.


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