Eric Crosby Named Director of Carnegie Museum of Art

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh announced today that Eric Crosby has been appointed The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art. Previously the Richard Armstrong Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Crosby became the museum’s acting director in January 2019. He will assume his role as director starting March 1.

“Eric has a deep commitment to the mission of Carnegie Museums and a clear understanding of what it will take to build on the distinctive strengths of Carnegie Museum of Art,” said Steven Knapp, president and CEO of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. “He was widely recognized as a creative and insightful curator before becoming acting director, and over the past year he has proven his ability to lead the museum’s talented staff as they lay the groundwork for the museum’s future. I look forward to supporting his efforts and benefiting from his advice in the months and years to come.”

Since joining the museum in 2015, Crosby has organized a number of significant exhibitions, including 20/20: The Studio Museum in Harlem and Carnegie Museum of Art, a collaborative group exhibition that considered the state of American identity and politics through the lenses of two major museum collections in dialogue. Crosby has also managed the museum’s Forum series, which presents the work of emerging and established artists, most recently Ruth Root, Ian Cheng, Michael Williams, and Alison Knowles.

Prior to the opening of the 2018 Carnegie International, Crosby oversaw a complete transformation of the museum’s postwar and contemporary galleries. Crossroads: 1945 to Now mines the depth and diversity of the collection by illuminating the critical role of the artist in everyday life. His curatorial work has left an indelible mark on the museum’s collection through a series of celebrated acquisitions, such as Kerry James Marshall’s Untitled (Gallery) (2016), Joan Brown’s The Room, Part 1 (1975), and major works from the 2018 Carnegie International, including works by the British painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, the interdisciplinary collective Postcommodity, and Pittsburgh sculptor Thaddeus Mosley. In his role as acting director since early 2019, Crosby has been instrumental in reimagining the museum’s artistic program, in particular as the museum prepares for the next iteration of the Carnegie International, which will launch in 2022.

“I am deeply honored to take on the permanent role of director at Carnegie Museum of Art,” said Crosby. “For nearly 125 years, the museum has presented significant artworks from across the globe and inspired visitors through its exhibitions and collections as well as through the Carnegie International, the oldest and most prestigious survey of contemporary art in the United States. In this new chapter, I will continue to champion curatorial projects and educational initiatives that provoke critical conversations about our world and respond to the key social issues of our time, driving forward our team’s desire to redefine the role of art museums in the 21st century.”

 “Eric has such passion for the museum, the city of Pittsburgh, and the greater arts community,” said Ellen Kessler, a Carnegie Museums life trustee and chair of the Carnegie Museum of Art Advisory Board. “He has proven to be an inspiring and engaging leader, and our advisory board is excited to continue working with and supporting Eric and his team as they lead the museum forward.”

Prior to joining Carnegie Museum of Art in 2015, Crosby was associate curator of visual arts at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received his BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and an MA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.