The Smithsonian today announced the appointment of Lynda Roscoe Hartigan as the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, effective Sept. 8. A distinguished curator, scholar and museum executive, Hartigan brings decades of leadership experience across major national and international cultural institutions.
Hartigan is currently the Rose‑Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. She returns to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she began her career, ultimately serving as its chief curator, leading internationally recognized acquisition and programmatic initiatives that significantly expanded the museum’s representation of modern, contemporary and self-taught artists.
“Lynda is a visionary leader whose career reflects a deep commitment to American art, thoughtful scholarship and public engagement,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. “Having begun her career at the Smithsonian, she returns with deep curatorial knowledge and substantial experience that will guide the museum in the years ahead.”
“The Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery is a place where art encourages meaningful dialogue and connection for audiences from the local to the international,” Hartigan said. “I am honored to help shape the museum’s next chapters and to work with its remarkable network of staff, supporters and partners to expand opportunities for people to engage with American creativity—an essential anchor for exploration and understanding in our rapidly evolving times.”
In 2003, Hartigan was appointed Peabody Essex Museum’s first chief curator, and in 2016, became deputy director. She went on to oversee the interpretation and installation of the museum’s new wing and played a central role in advancing the museum’s ambitious exhibition program, launching major new collecting and programmatic areas, including photography, American art, contemporary art and global fashion. During her tenure as executive director and CEO, she implemented a galvanizing strategic plan that strengthened the museum’s role as both a global cultural institution and a vital community resource. The museum experienced significant institutional growth through the collection stewardship, fundraising, learning, digital and global leadership initiatives that she led.
Her experience also includes senior leadership at a major international museum. Hartigan served as deputy director for collections and research and the first chief innovation officer at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada’s largest museum dedicated to art, culture and the sciences.
In her new role, Hartigan assumes leadership of one of the world’s premier collections of American art.The Smithsonian American Art Museum is widely recognized for its contributions to preserving and interpreting American visual culture. The museum holds the nation’s largest collection of New Deal art, outstanding holdings of contemporary craft, American impressionist paintings and Gilded Age masterworks. In recent years, the museum has placed increased focus on expanding its contemporary art and media arts collections. Through its exhibitions, research, national education initiatives and traveling exhibition program, the museum plays a central role in advancing public engagement with American visual culture.
Hartigan succeeds Jane Carpenter-Rock, who has served as acting director since September 2024 and will continue at the museum as deputy director for museum content and outreach.
About the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is the flagship museum in the United States for American art and craft. It is home to one of the most significant collections of American art in the world. The museum’s main building, located at Eighth and G streets N.W., is open daily (closed Dec. 25) from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The museum’s Renwick Gallery, a branch museum dedicated to contemporary craft, is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W. and is open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Check online for current hours and visitor information. Admission is free. Follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000. Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Website: americanart.si.edu.