Board Chair, James B. Lockhart III, conducted Bruce Museum’s annual meeting, and along with Executive Director, Robert Wolterstorff, reported on the exciting advances of the New Bruce building program and the remarkable progress since the Topping Out ceremony last June.
Having raised over 90% of the required funding, there is only $5M left to raise. Although the Campaign for the New Bruce is nearing completion, there are still many opportunities for participation.
During the past year, the Museum hired a Curator of Art, Margarita Karasoulas, who is planning the launch of the new permanent art gallery spaces, as well as the opening spring 2023 show in the changing art gallery, Lois Dodd: Natural Order.
In November 2021, Curator of Science Daniel Ksepka revealed the new permanent science galleries, Natural Cycles Shape Our Land, and is planning Penguins! as the first exhibition in the large gallery dedicated to rotating science shows. Mr. Wolterstorff reported on collection acquisition highlights for the year which included the two major bequest announcements totaling over 70 important paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Objects donated to the collection include a portfolio of nine engravings by Stanley William Hayter, a large group of 30 original Art Moderne posters, 60 works comprised of most of the original paintings for the annual Federal Duck Stamp program, a large and significant group of works by Inuit artists, and an extraordinary Early Jurassic dinosaur trackway collected here in Connecticut.
The Museum’s June Fiscal Year 2022 revenues will be about 20% over budget due largely to the museum’s extremely successful Gala in May which had 430 attendees. Both leaders expressed their gratitude and praise for the hardworking Museum volunteers, leadership, and staff.
New Trustees joining the Board are Stephen Corman, Michael A. Kovner, Nisha Kumar, Angela Timashev, and Jacqueline Adler Walker.
Winning annual awards for FY2022 were Employees of the Year: Suzanne Lio, Managing Director/COO, and Anne von Stuelpnagel, Director of Exhibitions and Director’s Award recipient Jillian Aufderheide. Simone McEntire and Susan Mahoney shared the Board Chair’s Award.
The Bruce Museum’s Board of Trustees elected James B. Lockhart III and William Deutsch as Co-Chairs. Joining them on the Executive Committee are: Vice Chairs Simone McEntire and Heidi Brake Smith; Treasurer Patricia W. Chadwick; Assistant Treasurer Rebecca A. Gillan; Secretary Ellen A. Flanagan; and Members-at-Large Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., Susan E. Lynch, and Charles M. Royce. Both Susan E. Lynch and Charles M. Royce were also elected Honorary Board Co-Chairs.
New Trustee Biographies
Stephen Corman, a former IBM executive, has devoted his retirement to healthcare causes. He has been involved in the founding of and has served on the boards of several national prostate cancer organizations. He has served as a Legislative Ambassador for the American Cancer Society and received its Courage Award. Steve is a member of the Connecticut Health Advocacy Forum and the Connecticut Cancer Partnership. He runs the Prostate Cancer Education Forum at Greenwich Hospital where he is also an oncology volunteer. He founded the Stephen and Betsy Corman Palliative Care Center and the Stephen Corman Prostate Cancer Early Detection Initiative at Greenwich Hospital. Other local organizations that have benefited from his trusteeship include Sacred Heart University (WSHU), My Friend Abby, Stamford’s Ferguson Library, and Westport Country Playhouse.
Michael A. Kovner is currently a Vice President/Director with Brown Harris Stevens in New York. Mr. Kovner’s board service includes the Jay Heritage Center (Rye, NY); his Pawling, NY, alma mater, Trinity-Pawling School; the Nantucket Preservation Trust; and the Greenwich Historical Society. Michael and his husband, Jean, have been long-time supporters of the Bruce Museum, underwriting and chairing benefit events and exhibition Committees of Honor. Michael serves on the Bruce Museum’s Development Committee.
Nisha Kumar Behringer is a strategic and shareholder-focused chief financial officer, independent director, and mergers and acquisition executive. In 2007, Ms. Kumar was profiled in Dealmaker magazine as a woman breaking the glass ceiling in mergers and acquisitions. Ms. Kumar Behringer is a Trustee of Brunswick School and chaired its Diversity, Audit, and Finance committees. She is a past president and trustee of Putnam Indian Field School, and an active versatile volunteer for Harvard. Nisha received both the YWCA of Greenwich BRAVA Award and the Harvard College Fund’s Albert H. Gordon Class of 1923 Award in 2017. She is currently on the Bruce Museum’s Investment Committee.
Angela Timashev is an avid art collector. She thrives in creative environments and supports artists and art institutions from around the world. Angela has maintained a global philanthropic presence throughout her adult life, actively participating in local, regional, and global initiatives including Art Basel Switzerland, Venice Biennale, and Miami Art Basel. Angela attended Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry and Ohio State University. She was elected by the Bruce Museum Board to the Class of 2022 as a mid-term appointment to fill a vacant seat. She will begin her own first term in the Class of 2025.
Jacqueline Adler Walker is the immediate past president of the board of ArtsWestchester and is currently on their executive, investment, and Arts Award committees. She and her husband Arthur were recipients of the ArtsWestchester 2010 Arts Patron Award. A past executive committee member of the board of the Neuberger Museum, she is now on their advisory committee. She was also on the board of the Scarsdale Adult School and currently sits on its advisory board. A member of the Bruce’s Museum Council, Jacqueline has served on the Governance and Collections committees and co-chaired several Committees of Honor supporting exhibitions.