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=> DIA loses 3 curators; support group vote

DIA loses 3 curators; support group vote

Posted by Jeff (Guest) jeff@attoz.com - Saturday, January 31 2004, 0:53:09 (EST) from 69.14.56.182 - d14-69-182-56.try.wideopenwest.com Commercial - Windows XP - Netscape Website: Website title:

DIA loses 3 curators; support group votes to disband by summer By Joy Hakanson Colby / The Detroit News Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery Three curators have resigned from the Detroit Institute of Arts, and a museum support group has voted to disband, all in protest of the dismantling of the ancient arts department. Dec. 31 was the last day for department head William H. Peck, curator of Egyptian art; Elsie Holmes Peck, curator of Middle Eastern art and Penelope Slough, associate curator of Greco-Roman art. Once the curators resigned, the majority of the Antiquaries, which numbers nearly 200 members, voted to phase out their support for the museum by this summer. “We had two reasons,” says board member Richard Fellrath. “The first was putting the curators in a position where they thought they had to resign. The second was supporting a department that was no longer there.” The curators had been re-assigned to three different departments in a museum restructuring headed by DIA director Graham W. J. Beal and announced in September. Egyptian art became part of the Africa, Oceania, Indigenous Americas department; Islamic moved to the Middle Eastern, Islamic and Asian department; and Greco-Roman became part of the European division, which concentrates on painting, sculpture and decorative arts. “It’s a mistake for an encyclopedic museum like the DIA to split up the ancient arts,” says Slough, a DIA volunteer for 18 years and a staffer for 22. “By doing that, you deny the integrity of the ancient world.” “I believe the ancient arts should stay together because they are a distinct cultural unit,” agrees William Peck, who has served the DIA for 43 years as curator, historian and a founder of the Antiquaries. “We had a great time at the museum, and resigning was not something we wanted to do. But it’s time to move on.” He says he will teach, lecture and concentrate on a book he’s been working on. Elsie Peck, who joined the DIA staff in 1971, says she and her husband will lead a tour to Sicily, which is rich in ancient monuments. She has been named curator of the Arab-American National Museum, which will open in Dearborn early in 2005. “I’ve loved it at the DIA and I’m sorry things went the way they did,” she says, “But we’ll still keep our friends at the museum.” “The Pecks and Penny Slough are respected professionals and they’ll be sorely missed,” says Eugene A. Gargaro Jr., chairman of the DIA’s board of trustees. “But I want to see about maintaining the Antiquaries because the group is important to the museum.” Although Beal was too busy to return calls, he wrote a statement noting the Pecks’ contributions to the museum. They include William’s official history titled “The Detroit Institute of Arts: A Brief History” and Elsie’s important contacts in the local Arab and Chaldean communities. The couple also is responsible for blockbuster exhibits such as “Splendors of Ancient Egypt,” which drew nearly 300,000 to the DIA in 1997-98, and “Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur” in 2001. DIA spokeswoman Annmarie Erickson says the DIA made no public announcement of the curators’ departure. “We announce retirements, not resignations. There was no farewell party because the Pecks didn’t want one.” Erickson adds that the museum is initiating a national search to replace the curators. Despite rumors of unrest at the museum, she denies that any other resignations are in the offing. You can reach Joy Colby at (313) 222-2276 or jcolby@ detnews.com. --------------------- - BACK TO INDEX - REPLY - QUOTE - EDIT - DELETE -

The full topic: DIA loses 3 curators; support group vote Jeff - Saturday, January 31 2004, 0:53:09 (EST) DIA loses 3 curators; support group vote parhad - 01/31 11:35

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