PITTSBURGH, PA, October 7, 2013 — The Frick Art & Historical Center announced today that its Director, William B. Bodine, Jr., has advised its Board of Trustees of his intention to retire at the end of June 2014.

In addressing his decision to retire, Mr. Bodine stated “My twelve years as Director of the Frick have been the most satisfying and productive of my long museum career. With the support of the Board of Trustees and our dedicated staff, we have enriched the Frick’s educational programs and transformed the Frick into a place of community engagement while maintaining its high standards of truth and beauty. I will be leaving the Frick at a remarkable moment in its 25-year history. Our new Orientation Center is scheduled to open next June, and we will then be poised to break ground on our new Education and Community Centers. While my decision to step down has not been an easy one, I look forward to having the time that retirement will afford me to travel and to reconnect with friends and colleagues.”

In acknowledging Mr. Bodine’s decision, David A. Brownlee, Chair of the Board of Trustees, stated, “While we understand—but regret—Bill’s desire to step down, we are deeply grateful for all that he has contributed to the Frick during his long tenure as Director. By June 2014, Bill will have completed twelve eventful and productive years with the Frick, a period of great progress for the institution. Bill’s tenure has seen the development of the Frick’s strategic plan; substantial expansion of the museum's educational programs; greater visibility for the Frick in the larger community; a substantially expanded donor base; and enhanced engagement with diverse audiences. In addition, during Bill's tenure the Frick developed a needs assessment, site plan, and the current, revised building program that will complete the institutional framework of the museum and address the major needs identified by its staff and various studies. As Director, Bill has overseen the start of construction on the Orientation Center and the launch of a supporting Capital Campaign that, over time, should enable the Frick to engage new sources of support. Throughout his tenure—particularly during the recent economic downturn—Bill and his staff have managed the Frick, its budget and its financial resources prudently. The Frick, and all of the diverse audiences that the Frick serves, are in his debt.”

Prior to his appointment as Director of the Frick Art & Historical Center in 2002, Bill Bodine held positions as a curator and museum administrator at such institutions as the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

ABOUT THE FRICK ART & HISTORICAL CENTER

Located on the Pittsburgh estate of late-19th-century industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the Frick Art & Historical Center is the steward of collections left as a legacy to the people of Pittsburgh by Frick’s daughter, Helen Clay Frick. The permanent collections include fine and decorative arts, cars, carriages, and historic objects (including buildings).

Built by Helen Clay Frick in 1969, The Frick Art Museum displays an exquisite permanent collection of European paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts from the 13th to 18th centuries, and presents outstanding temporary exhibitions from some of the world’s finest collections and museums.

Clayton, the Henry Clay Frick family mansion, is one of the most intact Gilded Age homes in the United States and possesses general significance as an artifact of American social history and a document of American and regional architecture. Restored to its original glory and opened as a house museum in 1990, an astonishing ninety-three percent of Clayton’s artifacts are original.

The Frick family’s carriages and automobiles provided the inspiration for the development of the Car and Carriage Museum, formerly the Frick’s carriage house, and today home to a collection of more than twenty vintage automobiles. A museum of transportation design and history, the Car and Carriage Museum also presents temporary exhibitions throughout the year.

Also included on the Frick’s five-acre site of beautifully landscaped lawns and gardens are the Frick children’s playhouse, designed by renowned architects Alden & Harlow, which currently serves as a Visitor Center and Museum Shop, a large working greenhouse (also designed by Alden & Harlow), an education center, and The Café at the Frick.

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For additional information or images, please contact Greg Langel, Media and Marketing Manager, at 412-342-4075 or GLangel@TheFrickPittsburgh.org

The Frick Art & Historical Center, a museum, historic site and cultural center, serves the public through preservation, presentation, and interpretation of the fine and decorative arts and historically significant artifacts for all residents of and visitors to Western Pennsylvania.