Morven Museum & Garden Appoints Jill M. Barry Executive Director

  • PRINCETON, New Jersey
  • /
  • July 13, 2016

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Jill M. Barry
Natalie Kingston

The Board of Trustees of Morven Museum & Garden is pleased to announce the appointment of Jill M. Barry as Executive Director.  Ms. Barry comes to Morven from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, where she has been Deputy Director since 2012.  She will begin her transition over the summer as she relocates to Princeton and assumes full-time responsibilities in early September.

In making the announcement, Board Chair Robert N. Wilson stated, “Jill is a strong and seasoned museum administrator whose career development has been focused on audience engagement at all levels.  We are very much looking forward to her leadership of one of New Jersey’s most important cultural and historic treasures.” 

In accepting the position, Ms. Barry stated, “I am delighted to be joining the team at Morven Museum & Garden as it joins my two passions, advancing the importance of museums and horticulture in everyday life.”

Ms. Barry brings significant experience from her work at a number of respected institutions that include the Naples Botanical Garden, the Walters Art Museum, the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Among many accomplishments, her most noteworthy include breaking ground on an outdoor sculpture garden at MMFA that will provide broader audiences with new access points to art, helping transform 170 acres of invasive species to a beautiful combination of cultivated gardens and nature preserve at the Naples Botanical Garden, and building access and strong donor bases to enable free general admission at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.

These experiences helped distinguish Ms. Barry from a national field of qualified applicants.  According to Search Committee Chair, Julia Garry, “The Search Committee could not be more thrilled in Jill’s appointment. Her twenty years as a museum professional will bring a wealth of knowledge, perspective, and a high standard of professionalism to Morven.”  Other trustees serving on the Search Committee were Liza Morehouse, Richard Pierce, Austin Starkey, and Bob Wilson.

Ms. Barry will succeed longtime Director Clare Smith, who retired earlier this year.  During Ms. Smith’s tenure, Morven experienced tremendous growth and professional recognition. Recent exhibitions on the "Pine Barrens: A Legacy of Preservation, Coastal Impressions: Painters of the Jersey Shore, 1880-1940" and the current "Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Couple of an Age" have been met with great acclaim and helped raise awareness of this important statewide resource.   

Contact:
Barbara Webb
Historic Morven, Inc.
6099248144
bwebb@morven.org

Morven Museum & Garden
55 Stockton Street
Princeton, New Jersey
bwebb@morven.org
609-924-8144
http://www.morven.org
About Morven Museum & Garden

A National Historic Landmark, Morven Museum & Garden is situated on five pristine acres in the heart of Princeton, New Jersey. This former New Jersey Governor’s Mansion showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Garden State through regular exhibitions, educational programs and special events.


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