Deborah Marrow, director of the Getty Foundation, has been appointed interim President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, filling the position left empty by the unexpected death of President and CEO James N. Wood last week. In this capacity, she will report directly to the Getty’s Board of Trustees.
“We very much appreciate Deborah’s willingness to step in during this difficult time,” said Mark S. Siegel, chairman of the J. Paul Getty Trust Board of Trustees. “She is an extremely capable and experienced leader, and we know the Getty will be in good hands.” Joan Weinstein, associate director of the Getty Foundation and a scholar of early 20th century German art, has been named interim director of the Foundation.
“Along with all my Getty colleagues, I deeply mourn Jim’s loss. He was a wonderful man who believed passionately in the work of the Getty programs. Despite these sad circumstances, our staff will move forward now and build on the extraordinary accomplishments of the past three years,” said Marrow.
Marrow has served in this capacity before, having stepped in as interim President and CEO in 2006-2007, while the Getty Trustees conducted the international search that resulted in the selection of Wood. Marrow originally joined the Getty in 1983 to launch a publications program that underwrote and published scholarly works on art history. During her years at the Getty, she has also served as director of the Getty Foundation, interim director of the Getty Research Institute, and dean for external relations of the Getty Trust.
Marrow is an art historian who began her professional career at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and has taught at various colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area and in Southern California. She holds a B.A. cum laude and a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University.
Over the course of her career, Marrow has served various organizations in the fields of art history, museums, preservation, and philanthropy. She currently serves as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, where she is a member of the executive committee and chairs the academic policy committee, among other responsibilities. She is also on the board of Town Hall Los Angeles. Previously, she was a member of the board of governors of the University of California Humanities Research Institute, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and the National and International Committees for the History of Art. She was also a member of the Save America’s Treasures Committee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in partnership with the White House Millennium Council.
Image: Deborah Marrow Photo: David Albanese. ©2005 J. Paul Getty Trust.
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