Chicago, IL—The Terra Foundation for American Art welcomes two new members to its board of directors: Stephanie Harris (right), a Chicago-based civic and philanthropic leader, and Adam Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum, who replace outgoing members Gerhard Casper and Michael Shapiro, both of whom served the full duration of their eight-year terms. Additionally, Mimi Gardner Gates, Terra Foundation board member since 2014 and director emerita of the Seattle Art Museum, was elected Board Chair. Gates, Harris, and Weinberg will assume their new roles at the Terra Foundation’s spring board meeting, March 20–21, in Chicago.
“Ms. Harris and Mr. Weinberg deliver an abundance of experience and expertise, especially in the areas of American art scholarship, museum leadership, and philanthropy,” said Gates. “Together, they will play an integral role in advancing the foundation’s mission to foster the exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts of the United States for audiences across the globe.”
A Trustee of the University of Chicago Medical Center, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Field Foundation of Illinois, Harris is also a member of the Woman’s Board of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Founders’ Board of Children’s Memorial Hospital. For three years, she served at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as Chair of the Apollo Circle, a group dedicated to cultivating interest in the Metropolitan among young professionals aged 23 to 40.
During his tenure at the Whitney, Weinberg has overseen the presentation of major exhibitions on artists including Jeff Koons, Sherrie Levine, Glenn Ligon, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Ed Ruscha; the development of award-winning educational programs; dramatic growth in the permanent collection; and the realization of the Museum’s new Renzo Piano-designed downtown building which opened in 2015. He has curated exhibition on artists ranging from Edward Hopper, Isamu Noguchi, and Richard Pousette-Dart to Sol LeWitt, Frank Stella, and Robert Mangold and is the author of numerous catalogues and essays on contemporary and modern art. Weinberg serves on the boards of the American Academy in Rome, the Colby College Art Museum, Storm King Art Center, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Mimi Gardner Gates served for 15 years as director of the Seattle Art Museum and is now director emerita, overseeing the Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas. Previously, she spent 19 years at Yale University Art Gallery, the last 7½ as director. Ms. Gates serves on the boards of the Blakemore Foundation, Dunhuang Foundation, Northwest African American Museum, Copper Canyon Press, Heritage University, and the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. She also serves on the Yale Art Gallery Governing Board and was elected to the Yale Corporation in 2007.
“The Terra Foundation is pleased to welcome Ms. Harris and Mr. Weinberg to its board of directors, a deft and agile group of leaders in academia, business management, communications, finance and investment, law, philanthropy, and the visual arts of the United States,” explained Terra Foundation President and CEO Elizabeth Glassman. “Under the guidance of Ms. Gates, the foundation will continue to cultivate cross-cultural conversations on American art, as together we continue to create and support projects that demonstrate the power of art both to distinguish cultures and to unite them.”
Terra Foundation for American Art
Established in 1978, the Terra Foundation for American Art is dedicated to fostering the exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts of the United States. With financial resources of more than $350 million, an exceptional collection of American art from the colonial era to 1945, and an expansive grant program, it is one of the leading foundations focused on American art, supporting exhibitions, academic programs, publications, and research worldwide.
