Earl Alexander Powell III

Earl Alexander Powell III
Earl A. Powell III (seated, center)
Born	(1943-10-24) October 24, 1943 (age 73) Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Museum director
Spouse(s)	Nancy Landry Powell
Parent(s)	Earl Alexander Powell II and Elizabeth Duckworth Powell

Earl Alexander Powell III (born October 24, 1943), nicknamed Rusty Powell, is an American art historian and museum director. From 1980 to 1992, he was Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was appointed Director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in September 1992. He was appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in 2003 and elected chairman in 2005. He was appointed to a second four-year term on August 30, 2012, and continues to serve as chairman.

Earl Powell was born in October 1943 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to Earl Alexander Powell II and Elizabeth Duckworth Powell. His grandfather operated a photoengraving business, which Powell credits as influential in sparking his later love of art. The Powells moved to Rhode Island. "Rusty", as Powell was known, graduated from Providence Country Day School in 1962. He was a standout football player in high school.

Powell graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in art history and European history (with honors) in 1966. He was a pre-med major, but barely passed his introductory chemistry class. Powell switched to art history, and studied under the legendary art history professors S. Lane Faison, Jr.,Whitney Stoddard, and William Pierson, Jr.

Powell enlisted in the United States Navy in 1966, winning a spot in the Navy Officer Candidate School. His active duty service, which lasted until 1969, included a tour of duty in Vietnam as a navigator during the Vietnam War. He left active duty service and entered the United States Navy Reserve, serving until 1980.