We are pleased to announce the appointment of Matthew K. Ward as the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Director.
He succeeds Helen A. Harrison, who retired from the position on January 18, 2024.
“Matt has the perfect mix of scholarly expertise, programming background, and curatorial experience to head the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center,” said Harrison. “I’m excited to hand over the reins to an outstanding leader who understands the historic site’s mission and vision, and who will bring fresh ideas and new approaches to fulfilling them.”
Ward, an art historian and curator from Long Island, New York, received his Master’s degree in Art History and Criticism from Stony Brook University and is currently a PhD candidate there. His academic work has focused on early American modernism, specifically the nascent American career of Willem de Kooning. He has served on the Brooklyn Museum’s ASK App team developing educational content, as Instructor of Record at Stony Brook University, Hofstra University and St. Joseph’s College, and as a researcher at the Willem de Kooning Foundation. His most recent position was Senior Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, Texas, where his exhibitions included “Frida Kahlo: Her Photos” and “Warhol x Scholder: Cowboys & Indians.” For the museum’s contemporary series, Ward organized first solo exhibitions of work by living Asian, Hispanic, and Black artists.
“The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center is one of our truly special resources here on the Island,
as well as a bona fide international pilgrimage site,” said Ward. “As community members, as artists, as art historians we should feel immensely proud of it. The house, the studio, the works Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner created here—these are indelible parts of this country’s cultural history. I also see the P-K House as a venue in which visitors can connect with the work of our region’s artists and scholars. Where, while celebrating the past, we can move enthusiastically into the future. This is very much a living space. I feel immensely privileged to be a part of it.”
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