Elizabeth "Betsy" Broun (born December 15, 1946, in
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
) is an American
art historian
Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history.
Traditionally, the ...
and
curator
A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
. Broun served as the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...
from 1989 to 2016, and is the longest-serving female director in the history of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
.
Career
Born in Kansas City, but raised in
Independence, Kansas
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the ...
, Broun completed all of her degrees from the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
: a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in
French and art history in 1968, a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
in art history in 1969, and a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
in art history in 1976. Her doctoral dissertation examined American sculptures and paintings at the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
in 1893.
In the early 1970s, Broun began her career in
museums
A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...
as a Ford Foundation Curatorial Fellow at the
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...
.
After completing her doctorate, she remained at the University of Kansas as Assistant Professor of Art History, as well as the Curator of Prints and Drawings at the
Spencer Museum of Art
The Spencer Museum of Art is an art museum operated by the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, United States.
History
In 1917, the Kansas City art collector Sallie Casey Thayer donated her collection of over seven thousand works of art, ...
until 1983. In her final year at the museum, Broun also served as acting director, succeeding
Charles C. Eldredge, who went on to become director of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...
.
In 1983, Broun followed Eldredge to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and became Chief Curator and Assistant Director there. Five years later, she succeeded him and was elevated to Margaret and Terry Stent Director, becoming the first female to serve in that role. Broun held the post until retirement in 2016, making her one of the longest standing directors and the longest serving female director in the history of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. She was succeeded by
Stephanie Stebich
Stephanie Antoinette Franziska Stebich (born January 26, 1966, in Mülheim) is a German-born American art historian and curator.
Early life and education
Born in Germany to Gehard and Ute, Stebich's family immigrated to Scarsdale, New York, wh ...
. Broun oversaw two major museum renovations during her tenure, including the $250 million main building project from 2000 to 2006, and refurbishing the
Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...
from 2013 to 2015. Major exhibitions under her directorship included ''
The West as America'' (1991) and ''
The Art of Video Games'' (2012).
In 2017, Broun was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
. Her own curatorial work has concerned artists such as
Thomas Hart Benton,
Albert Pinkham Ryder
Albert Pinkham Ryder (March 19, 1847 – March 28, 1917) was an American painter best known for his poetic and moody allegory, allegorical works and seascapes, as well as his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric personality. While his art shared an ...
,
Pat Steir, and
Anders Zorn.
In 1991, she received the Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award from the
College Art Association
The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understan ...
for her biography of ''
Albert Pinkham Ryder
Albert Pinkham Ryder (March 19, 1847 – March 28, 1917) was an American painter best known for his poetic and moody allegory, allegorical works and seascapes, as well as his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric personality. While his art shared an ...
'', published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 1989.
Select works
* ''The Prints of Anders Zorn'' (1979)
* ''Benton's Bentons: Selections from the Thomas Hart Benton and Rita P. Benton Trusts'' (1980)
* ''Form, Illusion, Myth: Prints and Drawings of Pat Steir'' (1983)
* ''Images on Stone: Two Centuries of Artists' Lithographs'' (1987)
* ''Albert Pinkham Ryder'' (1989)
* ''Free Within Ourselves: African-American Artists in the Collection of the National Museum of American Art'' (1992)
See also
*
List of American Academy of Arts and Sciences members (2006–2019)
*
List of female art museum directors
*
List of people from Kansas City
*
List of University of Kansas people
References
External links
Smithsonian profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broun, Elizabeth
1946 births
Living people
People from Kansas City, Missouri
People from Independence, Kansas
20th-century American women
21st-century American women
University of Kansas alumni
University of Kansas faculty
American art curators
American art historians
American women curators
Directors of museums in the United States
Smithsonian Institution people