Guggenheim gets new director

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation announced in September that deputy director and chief curator Lisa Dennison had been named to the newly created position of director of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, effective Oct. 1. She assumes the duties performed by Thomas Krens for 17 years. Krens will continue as foundation director, allowing him to focus on the broad goals of the organization and its various outposts, including possible new sites in Hong Kong, Singapore and Guadalajara.

Dennison will report directly to Krens, but will be in charge of day-to-day operations in New York. She will oversee the museum's programming, as well as collection-building and fundraising. Dennison will also continue in her role as chief curator for the Guggenheim museums worldwide. She first worked at the museum in 1973 as an intern to then director Thomas Messer. After stints at other museums, she was hired by the Guggenheim in 1978, holding various positions until her appointment as deputy director and chief curator in 1996.

Each of the Guggenheim branches--Venice, Bilbao, Berlin, Las Vegas--has its own director, but this is the first time that the positions of foundation director and the New York museum director have been held by different people.

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