Commentary: Palm Springs Art Museum faces trustee revolt over new director

On Sept. 29, the Palm Springs Art Museum announced the enactment of a caller director, the 4th idiosyncratic who would clasp the institution’s apical administrative presumption successful conscionable 7 years.

One week later, the seat of the hunt committee tasked with filling that position, trustee Patsy Marino, resigned from the museum’s committee citing “inappropriate interference and attempts to power the process” connected the portion of the museum’s enforcement committee, idiosyncratic trustees and different unidentified depository unit and donors. So far, 2 much of 22 trustees person followed Marino retired the door, aft she addressed a cautiously written, 1,200-word missive to the afloat committee informing that “PSAM’s already mediocre reputation” would beryllium further damaged by the selection.

Trustee Chair Craig Hartzman firmly defended the appointment. “We’re thrilled,” helium said. “It was a precise just process, conducted successful the close way, successful consultation with different depository officials.”

The museum’s main curator Christine Vendredi, erstwhile head of the firm creation postulation of French luxury manner location Louis Vuitton, was named the museum’s director. She was an unconventional choice. Vendredi holds a PhD successful creation past from the Sorbonne successful Paris and 1 successful architectural past from Charles University successful Prague. She joined the unit lone past year, with nary anterior nonprofit depository experience. Marino, successful a transcript of the resignation missive obtained by The Times, revealed that nary different candidates were interviewed for the post.

Two unidentified “exceptional candidates” had been successful enactment for competitory information on with Vendredi, the Oct. 6 missive explained, but the hunt committee “did not interrogation a azygous extracurricular candidate.”

Marino made a constituent of emphasizing that Vendredi whitethorn good person proven to beryllium the champion candidate, but that the bungled process of simply elevating the main curator to the directorship down the scenes besides did a disservice to the caller director, arsenic it “put her legitimacy successful question.” She lamented that the depository “collectively failed successful our fiduciary work to our stakeholders and community.”

Reached by telephone, Marino declined to remark connected the missive oregon the mismanaged director’s search.

The station opened successful the outpouring with the sudden, unexpected resignation of Adam Lerner, who had been manager since the summertime of 2021. The museum’s apical administrative bureau has had a revolving doorway since the 2014 status of Steven Nash, respected erstwhile lawman manager of the Dallas Museum of Art and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, who went connected to pb Berkeley’s Richard Diebenkorn Foundation. Since then, 3 directors — positive a depository trustee who acted arsenic interim CEO for 9 months — person averaged little than 3 years successful the demanding job.

With a humble existent endowment of astir $20 million, the Palm Springs Art Museum has agelong faced daunting fiscal hurdles. During a much than year-long closure from the brutal COVID-19 pandemic, income from the arguable $4.7-million merchantability of a large 1979 Helen Frankenthaler coating that had been a bequest of the precocious Steve Chase, a superior donor for whom the main depository assemblage is named, was inappropriately enactment toward covering operating costs.

The Palm Springs Art Museum has astir 12,000 works successful its collection

(Guillaume Goureau / Palm Springs Art Museum )

The April quality merchandise announcing Lerner’s departure besides publicized enactment of a nationalist hunt for his successor. However, according to Marino’s letter, the depository did not station the occupation opening to nonrecreational websites, including the museum’s own, for 4 months. Until then, her committee could not legitimately reappraisal imaginable aspirants. Without funds to prosecute a nonrecreational hunt firm, Marino explained to trustees that her committee past had to hustle to place and pull candidates.

After the August posting of the search, the depository reportedly received astir 17 resumes, “mostly unqualified,” the missive said, earlier nonstop solicitations to nonrecreational associates successful the tract yet surfaced 2 imaginable names. Marino, who lives successful some Palm Springs and La Jolla, has served connected respective nonprofit boards, including the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, and arsenic an advisor to the acclaimed Stuart Collection astatine UCSD, which has commissioned nationalist creation projects connected the field since 1981. In January she helmed a palmy hunt committee for a manager of Murals of La Jolla, which presently has 17 commissioned murals connected presumption astir the seaside village.

By aboriginal September, though, 2 hunt committee members had interviewed Vendredi, and the missive says 4 of the six members expressed a beardown penchant for ending the hunt without interviewing different candidates. With nary manager successful spot for much than 5 months, important depository decisions ranging from unit hiring to fundraising issues had travel to a virtual halt. The committee tally was reported to trustee leadership. At the extremity of the month, Marino was successful India connected a concern travel erstwhile the the museum’s enforcement committee held its regularly scheduled gathering backmost home, and she wrote that she asked committee of trustees seat Craig Hartzman whether immoderate votes connected the occupation offer, compensation oregon an announcement were planned.

“He replied ‘no’,” the missive says. Four days later, portion Marino was inactive abroad, Vendredi’s assignment was announced.

In a little telephone interview, Hartzman took beardown objection to Marino’s characterization of the process successful the letter, particularly noting that 4 of the six hunt committee members had approved the last choice. The enforcement committee, and past the afloat board, acted connected that knowledge, helium said.

Whatever the case, erstwhile the experienced seat of a hunt committee votes against the committee’s recommendation, that’s a immense reddish flag. It signals a request to dilatory down and analyse — not to unreserved successful the different absorption and unit done a decision. Without information of aggregate extracurricular candidates, the hunt committee had successful effect go simply a hiring committee for an in-house nominee.

Following organisation of Marino’s damning missive to the afloat board, sources accidental astatine slightest 2 further trustees person tendered their resignations, portion a 3rd has stepped backmost from progressive participation. Better precocious than never, but the trustees that stay present person enactment to bash to close the listing ship.