The Toledo Museum of Art 2020 Plan: From Vision to Reality

Brian Kennedy has been president, director and CEO of the Toledo Museum of Art since 2010. He oversees a 36-acre campus housing one of America’s great art collections in three architecturally significant buildings. He came to the Museum with extensive experience in senior leadership positions at art museums in Ireland, Australia and the United States.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Kennedy studied art history and history at University College in Dublin, earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

From 2005-2010, Kennedy was director of Dartmouth College’s Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, New Hampshire, which has one of the largest art collections at an American college or university.

Prior to coming to the United States, Kennedy spent eight years as assistant director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (1989-1997) and seven years as director of the National Gallery of Australia (1997-2004) in Canberra.

A frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, Kennedy is an art historian, curator and author who has edited seven books and authored six himself, most recently on the artists: Sean Scully and Frank Stella.

He is a past chair of the Irish Association of Art Historians (1996-97) and of the Council of Australian Art Museum Directors (2001-03). He is a trustee and treasurer of the Association of Art Museum Directors, a peer reviewer for the American Association of Museums and a member of the International Association of Art Critics. In 2003 he was awarded a Centenary of Federation medal by the Australian Government for service to Australian society and its art. In 2013 he was appointed inaugural eminent professor at the University of Toledo. Most recently, Kennedy received the 2014 Ohio Art Education Association award for “Distinguished Educator for Art Education.”