Dr. James Cuno, appointed CEO of the Getty Trust in May 2011, has worked closely with Chicago art Leaders who have good reason to be optimistic about the Getty’s future prospects. Chicago museum and symphony trustee Richard Gray and Chicago Office of Tourism leader Dorothy Coyle shared their perspectives for this profile.
“The whole history of art is Jim’s playing field and he has wonderful taste. Los Angeles is very fortunate to have attracted him,†reports Gray. The lifelong Chicago social and art business leader praises Cuno as the best Director the Art Institute of Chicago has had.
Gray praised Cuno’s ability to increase community involvement at many levels. The membership base and annual visitor totals of the Art Institute grew by hundreds of thousands during Cuno’s seven years as the museum’s head.
Within months of his arrival, Cuno established new programs to help promote classic art, contemporary art and performing arts throughout Chicago to make it an even more dynamic destination for visitors and residents alike. The result, notes Gray, is that “Jim has done wonders for all these institutions”.
According to Dorothy Coyle, the Executive Director of Chicago’s Office of Tourism and Culture, “Jim Cuno has been a wonderful asset to Chicago’s cultural community, and a great booster of the city’s tourism industry, and he will be missed. As president of the Art Institute of Chicago, Jim oversaw the construction of the new Modern Wing, designed by architect Renzo Piano, and under his leadership, the Art Institute — one of the world’s leading art museums and one of Chicago’s most popular tourist attractions — drew 1.8 million visitors in 2009 alone.
Cuno, the current President of the Art Institute of Chicag
o, will become the new CEO of the Getty Trust this August. The Trust operates the Getty Center, Getty Villa and Getty Research Institute in Pacific Palisades. The Getty museum campus and network of global arts projects make it the world’s largest private arts institution.
Cuno came to UCLA in the late 1980’s after completing graduate studies at Harvard University and teaching art history at Vassar College. His success at UCLA was followed by a return to Harvard, where he served as Director of the Harvard University Art Museums.
Since 2004, Cuno has led the Art Institute of Chicago, overseeing the construction the new Modern Wing. Opening in 2008, this museum within a museum was designed by architect Renzo Piano and houses the Art Institute’s collection of art from the 20th and 21st Centuries, as well as world renowned architecture collections.
For more information on the Getty: www.getty.edu
