Search for successor is on
The big question: Who can fill Peter Marzio's shoes at the MFAH?
Can anyone replace the late Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Peter Marzio? That's the question Rebecca S. Cohen, author of Art Guide Texas, asks in Sunday's New York Times.
As reported in CultureMap and elsewhere, Marzio, who died unexpectedly in December after a private battle with cancer, built the museum into an art world juggernaut.
Cohen points out that during Marzio's 28-year tenure, the museum's attendance zoomed from 300,000 to two million, its budget increased from $5 million to $52 million and its endowment topped $1 billion. An ambitious expansion program added a sculpture garden designed by Isamu Noguchi, the Audrey Jones Beck Building designed by Rafael Moneo, and Rienzi, the River Oaks estate owned by the late Harris Masterson.
In a city that strives to be recognized, Marzio provided buzz. Cohen writes:
Perhaps most important, Mr. Marzio is widely credited with having turned the museum from an interesting regional institution into a world-class art institution, boosting Houston's reputation."
Finding someone to fill those shoes promises to be a big challenge for the museum and for Marzio's successor, who, at least initially, will labor in his shadow, according to a number of museum experts quoted in the story.
However, it is an attractive job and pays well (Marzio's salary in 2008 exceeded $1 million, according to Newsweek), so there should be no lack of interested applicants.
The search for a successor is in its early stages.