Earl Alexander Powell III (born October 24, 1943),"Earl A. Powell III." Online Press Kit. National Gallery of Art. 2012. Accessed 2012-10-13. nicknamed Rusty Powell, is an American art historian and museum director. From 1980 to 1992, he was Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was appointed Director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in September 1992. The Gallery announced in November 2017 that Powell would step down in 2019. He was appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in 2003 and elected Chair in 2004. He was appointed to a second four-year term on August 30, 2012, and continues to serve as Chair.
Early life Earl Powell was born in October 1943 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to Earl Alexander Powell II and Elizabeth Duckworth Powell."Powell, Earl [Alexander], III, 'Rusty'." Dictionary of Art Historians. No date. Accessed 2012-10-13. His grandfather operated a photoengraving business, which Powell credits as influential in sparking his later love of art.Tanguy, Sarah. "Glittering Conversation About the World of Art." Washington Times. March 30, 1994. The Powells moved to Rhode Island. "Rusty", as Powell was known, graduated from Providence Country Day School in 1962.Van Siclen, Bill. "Forging Another Link in the R.I. Art Connection." Providence Journal. May 10, 1992. He was a standout football player in high school.Wilson, William. "LACMA at a Turning Point." Los Angeles Times. August 5, 1992.
Powell graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in art history and European history (with honors) in 1966. He was a pre-med major, but barely passed his introductory chemistry class.Dobrzynski, Judith H. "An Art Lover Who Awakened a Generation." New York Times. October 28, 1997. Powell switched to art history, and studied under the legendary art history professors S. Lane Faison, Jr., Whitney Stoddard,Johnson, Ken. "Whitney Stoddard, 90, Art Historian and Teacher." New York Times. April 14, 2003. and William Pierson, Jr.Grimes, William. "William H. Pierson Jr., 97, Art Historian." New York Times. December 12, 2008.
Powell enlisted in the United States Navy in 1966, winning a spot in the Navy Officer Candidate School. His active duty service, which lasted until 1969, included a tour of duty in Vietnam as a navigator during the Vietnam War. He left active duty service and entered the United States Navy Reserve, serving until 1980.
After leaving the Navy, Powell considered becoming an architect. His old professor, S. Lane Faison, strongly discouraged him. As Powell later recalled, Faison said, "That's stupid. You should go into art history. It's the only thing you were ever good at." Powell enrolled at Harvard University, where he obtained a Master of Arts from the Fogg Museum in 1970. He entered the doctoral program in art history at Harvard in 1970. While working on his degree, he served as a teaching fellow. Powell's dissertation was on the work of the early American painter Thomas Cole, and he received his doctorate in 19th-century American and European art history in 1974.Muchnic, Suzanne. "2 L.A. Museum Directors On National Gallery List." Los Angeles Times. April 2, 1992.
The same year he received his Ph.D., Powell took a position as assistant professor of art history at the University of Texas at Austin."President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts." Press release. Office of the President. The White House. August 16, 2012.
In 1976, Powell left the University of Texas to take a position as a curator at the National Gallery of Art (NGA). The NGA's director at the time, J. Carter Brown, recruited Powell away from teaching. "I first spotted (Powell) in Austin, Texas. It occurred to me that he had rare potential, someone who had a passion for art, but yet had his feet on the ground. He was a people person, yet he could also handle the administrative details...," Brown later said.Marshall, Matthew. "Bittersweet Time for Museum Head." Los Angeles Times. October 2, 1992. Powell stayed at the NGA for four years, rising to the position of executive curator in 1979.Richard, Paul. "The Big Shoes of J. Carter Brown." Washington Post. February 2, 1992; Richardson, Lynda. "Chronicle." New York Times. October 2, 1992. Brown later said, "Rusty was my right hand for years".Vogel, Carol. "National Gallery Appoints Director to Succeed Brown." New York Times. April 29, 1992. During his time as curator, Powell organized some of the NGA's biggest exhibitions, including "The Splendor of Dresden: Five Centuries of Art Collecting" in 1978 and "American Light: The Luminist Movement" in 1980.
LACMA directorship In January 1980, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) hired Powell to be its director."Los Angeles Art Museum Names Its New Director." Christian Science Monitor. January 23, 1980.
Powell's tenure at LACMA was an outstanding one. In his first six years, he doubled the exhibition space by opening the Robert O. Anderson Building and the Pavilion for Japanese Art to house a rare collection of Japanese art.Cummings, Judith. "Cultural Boom Stirring in Southern California." New York Times. October 30, 1986. He also oversaw the opening of the museum's new outdoor sculpture garden in 1988.Muchnic, Suzanne. "LACMA Opens Sculpture Garden." Los Angeles Times. July 27, 1988.
Powell was also a successful fund-raiser for the museum. In his first eight years, he reached his fund-raising goal of $80 million.Voland, John. "Morning Report: First Off..." Los Angeles Times. July 21, 1988. In 1991, publisher Walter Annenberg donated $10 million to the museum, the largest cash donation in its history.Muchnic, Suzanne. "Annenberg to Give L.A. Art Museum $10 Million." Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1991. During Powell's tenure, the LACMA endowment also rose to $21 million from $3 million.Muchnic, Suzanne. "Art Museum Study Reveals Trouble in Raising Money." Los Angeles Times. July 30, 1993.
J. Carter Brown later described Powell's tenure as director of LACMA as one "bound for glory".
National Gallery of Art On January 24, 1992, J. Carter Brown announced that he was retiring as director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.Vogel, Carol. "Head of National Gallery Is Retiring." New York Times. January 25, 1992. After a nationwide search, Earl A. Powell III was named director of the National Gallery of Art. He was only the fourth director in the museum's history. He assumed the directorship on September 1, 1992.Vogel, Carol. "The Art Market." New York Times. June 19, 1992. When he was appointed, Powell said that he believed the era of "blockbuster" exhibitions was ending, and that his focus would be to utilize the NGA's permanent collection. "I don't see the future for these massive international loan exhibitions," he said. "I would prefer to use the gallery's permanent collections in new and innovative ways."
During the beginning of Powell's tenure at the NGA, he faced several challenges. In May 1994, the NGA learned that its painting, The Holy Family on the Steps, was a forgery and not the work of 17th-century French painter Nicolas Poussin. Powell was criticized for not ordering the relabeling of the painting in a timely manner, and for mishandling the NGA's response to its critics."Truth in Labeling." Washington Post. November 13, 1994. In December 1994, D.C. television station WJLA ran a three-part exposé titled "Gallery of Shame", in which the station revealed the content of a confidential report that criticized the NGA for severe lapses in maintenance, environmental control, and art storage. The report said that these conditions "threaten[ed] the security of the collection" and placed works of art "at risk" of "serious damage."Lewis, Jo Ann. "Gallery Weathers the Storm." Washington Post. December 3, 1994.Vogel, Carol. "Inside Art." New York Times. December 9, 1994. The report documented a leaky roof, dripping skylights, flooded storerooms, and burst radiators that poured clouds of steam into galleries. In one case, a poorly maintained humidifier turned the varnish on John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark an opaque white. (The painting was restored with no damage.) The report also criticized the management structure at the museum, documented low employee morale, and uncovered poor minority hiring practices. Powell attacked WJLA's report as "hyperbole and exaggeration", and said that not a single work of art had been damaged. He also said that the NGA had been aware of the problems for several years, and that he already had a plan in place to implement the consultants' recommendations within 12 months.
Powell has also had numerous and notable successes as NGA director. In 1995, the museum mounted the first comprehensive retrospective of the work of American painter Winslow Homer in 25 years. It also hosted an exhibit of nearly all the works of 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. The Vermeer exhibit was shuttered three times in November and December 1995 when the federal government shut down after President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress were unable to reach agreement on a federal budget.Weinraub, Judith. "A Bleak Picture of the Shutdown." Washington Post. December 22, 1995. Powell ordered that $30,000 from the NGA's Fund for International Exchange be used to reopen the Vermeer exhibit (but no other parts of the National Gallery of Art) for one week.Lewis, Jo Ann and Parker, Lonnae O'Neal. "A Dutch Treat: Vermeer Show to Reopen." Washington Post. December 27, 1995. In 1997, Powell presided over the ground-breaking for the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.Hartman, Carl. "Sculpture Garden to Surround Skating Rink on Washington's Mall." Associated Press. June 13, 1997; Shaw-Eagle, Joanna. "National Gallery Breaks Ground for Sculpture Garden." Washington Times. June 13, 1997.
Other posts, writing, and honors In June 2002, President George W. Bush nominated and the United States Senate approved Powell for a position as a member of the National Council on the Arts, an advisory panel for the National Endowment for the Arts. Powell filled an unexpired six-year term which would end on September 3, 2006.Dutka, Elaine. "Arts and Entertainment Reports." Los Angeles Times. June 14, 2002; Donadio, Rachel. "In Brief." New York Sun. April 11, 2003. But Powell resigned the position in late 2003."Personnel Announcement." Press release. Office of the President. The White House. January 7, 2004.
In May 2005, architect David Childs resigned as chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA).Thomas E. Luebke, ed., Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 552. President Bush immediately appointed Powell to the commission.Forgey, Benjamin. "Childs Resigns as Head of Fine Arts Panel." Washington Post. May 21, 2005. His fellow commissioners elected Powell chairman of the CFA. During his tenure as chairman of the CFA, Powell and the CFA provided input and advice for the Monumental Core Framework Plan, a 2006 study by the National Capital Planning Commission which made recommendations regarding land use, transportation, and urban design in areas around the National Mall.Wagner, Arlo. "Planners See Ideas Beyond the Mall." Washington Times. May 18, 2006. President Bush reappointed Powell to the CFA in May 2008.Ruane, Michael E. "District Briefing." Washington Post. May 10, 2008. Again he was elected chairman. During his second term, Powell led the CFA in participating in the study and review of the Final National Mall Plan / Environmental Impact Statement—a 2010 plan by the National Park Service to craft a vision and planning document to guide the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the next 50 years.Ruane, Michael E. "Fine-Arts Panel Enthusiastic About Plan to Overhaul the Mall." Washington Post. February 19, 2010.