The Maine State Museum Commission has named Bernard Fishman, former director of Rhode Island Historical Society, as the new director of the Maine State Museum in Augusta. A veteran museum director with 28 years of experience, Fishman replaces Joseph R. Phillips, who retired after twenty years at the helm of Maine’s largest museum dedicated to the preservation of the state’s natural and cultural history.
native of New York City, Fishman received a B.A. summa cum laude in American History from Columbia University and a M.A. with honors in Ancient History and Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. Trained initially as an Egyptologist, Fishman worked for three years recording and deciphering ancient texts in Luxor, Egypt. Subsequently he became the director of a small art museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He next became the founding director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore, where he worked for thirteen years. After a four-year directorship at the Lehigh County Historical Society in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Fishman moved to the position of executive director at Rhode Island Historical Society, where he worked for nine years.
Bernard Fishman has served as an advisor or consultant to museums nationwide. He has written and lectured widely on archaeology, architecture, art, historic preservation, education, vintage photography, scientific analysis of ancient materials, institutional development, and a variety of historical topics. www.mainestatemuseum.org