From the Interim Chief Executive Officer and Interim Head of Curatorial Affairs

These are extraordinary, exciting, and unprecedented times in the more than 130-year history of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 2007, we celebrated the debut of the transcendent and transformed landmark Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building. Its new exhibition spaces and study centers are now not-to-be-missed destinations for art-lovers from around the corner and across the world. Gloriously varied national and international-loan exhibitions are enthusiastically received by arts-writers, scholars, and public alike. Major acquisitions—some recognized masterworks, others adventurous and surprising—amplify the Museum’s strengths while electrifying the galleries and blazing new trails for collecting, scholarship, and reaching new audiences. Thrilling news from the Department of State proclaims that the Museum and Bruce Nauman will represent the United States at the Venice Biennale in 2009.

Two-thousand-eight was an amazing and unforgettable year, indeed, but one marked by unimaginable sadness and loss. Thousands of individuals from every corner of the globe knew Anne d’Harnoncourt as a friend, a colleague, a catalyst, and a paragon of impeccable vision and action in the world of art and the world at large. Millions more knew her through her work: the wonders she brought—in collaboration with her professional partners—to the Museum. The breadth and intensity of Anne’s efforts reflected her passionate belief that experiencing and learning about art firsthand must bring uplift, delight, meaning, and perspective to each and every individual, regardless of education, background, or ability.

It is our honor and privilege to serve the Museum and its public—you—in our interim positions. As we proceed in promoting the Museum’s core intent—to present more art to more people in more ways—we are grateful for insights and inspirations shared by the entire Museum family: staff, volunteers, supporters, members, and visitors. If you are planning your first visit to the Museum: we thank you for your interest, and promise it will be well rewarded. If you are a long-time friend, our gratitude for your ongoing enthusiasm, involvement, and support is boundless.

A Search Committee co-chaired by Museum Trustees and Vice-Chairs Martha H. Morris and Keith L. Sachs has been organized to identify Anne d'Harnoncourt’s permanent successor as the George D. Widener Director. Joining Mrs. Morris and Mr. Sachs on the Search Committee are their fellow Trustees Barbara B. Aronson, Julian A. Brodsky, John G. Drosdick, David W. Haas, Victoria McNeil Le Vine, and Mary Patterson McPherson, each of whom brings unique and substantive insights and experience to this crucially important effort.

Magnificent and graced with their own inherent beauty, the Museum's buildings are also the linchpin to fulfilling the mission of the Museum, which is presenting and preserving great art and sharing its eternal but ever-evolving lessons and truths. Progressing well is work now underway to restore and repair the world-renowned façade of the Museum’s landmark "Temple on Fairmount." This work is essential to the main Museum building’s appearance and structural integrity, and is a prelude for the expansion of the main building conceived and guided by one of the world’s preeminent architectural firms, Gehry Partners.

A clear vision for an evolving and constantly improving Museum is evident, as well, in the development of a sensitively sited sculpture garden and parking facility (which, as designed by landscape architect Laurie Olin and his partners, working with Atkin Olshin Schade Architects, and as cited by the Environmental Protection Agency, is also ecologically sensitive). The parking facility will open in spring 2009, with the sculpture garden scheduled for completion later that year.

Never has the Museum better delivered, as Fiske Kimball (director of the Museum during the crucial decades from 1925 to 1955) envisioned, "a walk through time." The Museum’s collections have grown to include more than 227,000 works of art, representing thousands of years of human creativity from every corner of the globe. The Museum is where the histories and arts of different civilizations merge, where conversations take place across cultures, genres, and mediums—breathtaking discoveries await, whether your Museum visit is in person or online.

We thank you for touring the Museum’s website—and encourage you to explore this beloved, treasure-filled Museum in person sometime soon! As Anne d'Harnoncourt said—and as everyone who knows and loves this Museum agrees—"You will discover enough to delight and to inspire you for a lifetime."

Welcome,

Gail Harrity Interim Chief Executive Officer	Alice Beamesderfer Interim Head of Curatorial Affairs