Robert M. Baylis, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Rubin Museum announced that the Museum has received a $25 million gift from Shelley and Donald Rubin, the Museum’s founders. The gift will be dedicated to helping fund operations, exhibitions and programs over the next five years as the Rubin continues its initiatives to diversify its leadership and broaden its funding base. In support of these goals, Mr. Baylis concurrently announced that Patrick Sears has been named Deputy Director of the Museum and Cynthia Guyer has been appointed to the newly created position of Head of External Affairs.
Shantarakshita and Scenes of His Life in Tibet Tibet; 19th century; Pigments on cloth; 35 x 24 in.;
Rubin Museum of Art, C2007.22.1 (HAR 65798)
“During the past thirteen years Shelley and Donald have invested enormous amounts of their time, expertise and resources in building an institution that plays a unique role in New York and the nation,” stated Mr. Baylis. “They have been tireless advocates for the arts and culture of the Himalayas and in bringing them to life for the people who live and work in New York and visitors to our city. I’d like to thank Donald and Shelley for their gifts on behalf of all who have benefited from their incredible vision and generosity, and those who will benefit from it in the decades to come.”
As part of the transition in leadership, Mr. Rubin is stepping down as CEO of the Rubin Museum with many of his duties to be assumed by Mr. Sears, who joined the museum in 2003 and has most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of the Museum. Ms. Guyer joins the executive team at the Rubin and will strengthen the Museum’s development, marketing and communications programs. Ms. and Mr. Rubin will retain their positions as Co-Chairs of the Board of Trustees.
About the Rubin Museum of Art
RMA holds one of the world’s most important collections of Himalayan art. Paintings, pictorial textiles, and sculpture are drawn from cultures that touch upon the arc of mountains that extends from Afghanistan in the northwest to Myanmar (Burma) in the southeast and includes Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, and Bhutan. The larger Himalayan cultural sphere, determined by significant cultural exchange over millennia, includes Iran, India, China, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. This rich cultural legacy, largely unfamiliar to Western viewers, offers an uncommon opportunity for visual adventure and aesthetic discovery.
Rubin Museum of Art 150 West 17th Street, NYC, 10011 www.rmanyc.org