Elizabeth Broun
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Dr. Elizabeth Broun |
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Elizabeth Broun, Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum from 1989 to 2016, in the museum's Kogod Courtyard
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| Born | December 15, 1946 |
| Nationality | U.S.A. |
| Occupation | Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery |
| Academic background | |
| Education | B.A. in French and Art History (1968), M.A. in Medieval Art History (1969), and a doctorate in History of Art (1976) |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | American Art History |
Elizabeth Broun was the director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. for 27 years, from 1989 until December 2016. At the time of her retirement, she set the record as the second longest–serving Smithsonian museum director, after Spencer Fullerton Baird, and as the longest-serving female museum director in Smithsonian history.
Elizabeth Broun was born in 1946 in Kansas City and grew up in Independence, Kansas. She completed a B.A. in French and art history (1968), a M.A. in medieval art history (1969), and a doctorate in history of art (1976) at the University of Kansas. In the early 1970s, Broun also served as a Ford Foundation Curatorial Fellow at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
After completing her doctorate in 1976, Broun remained at the University of Kansas for several years as assistant professor in the History of Art Department as well as the curator of prints and drawings at the Spencer Museum of Art. In her final year at the museum, she also served as acting director. In 1983, Broun moved to Washington, D.C. and became Chief Curator and Assistant Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery. Five years later, she became the first female director of that museum and has served in the role ever since, making her one of the longest standing directors at the Smithsonian Institution.
Broun has overseen many significant projects during her time as director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. These include a $250 million renovation of the museum's main building from 2000 to 2006, and the renovation of the Renwick Gallery from 2013 to 2015. The building projects included completely renewed infrastructure, enhanced historic features and other 21st century upgrades. She oversaw the launch of a large-scale traveling exhibition program, a national education program, and advances in web-based resources and research databases.
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