Jump to content

Aaron De Groft

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 91.108.199.46 (talk) at 08:57, 30 June 2022. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Aaron De Groft
EducationSmithfield High School (1984)
Alma materCollege of William & Mary (1998);
University of South Carolina-Columbia (MA);
Florida State University (PhD, 2000)
Occupation(s)Museum director; author; art curator
SpouseKathryn Lee Garner (m. 1991)

Aaron Herbert De Groft is an American museum director, author, and art curator. He was the former director for the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary, followed by the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida. He was fired from the latter position in June 2022 amid a scandal caused by inauthentic Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings.

Education and career

De Groft attended university at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, e he majored in history and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1988.[1][2] During that time, took a position at the Muscarelle Museum of Art under then-director Glenn D. Lowry who had him performing manual jobs before moving into more of a research role.[1] He went on to earn a master's degree in art history and museum studies with a speciality in contemporary American painting at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.[3] He attended Florida State University, where he studied art history and earned his PhD in 2000 with a dissertation called "John Ringling In Perpetua Memoria: The Legacy and Prestige of Art and Collecting".[4][5] While at FSU, he contributed to the Winterthur Portfolio academic journal, writing an article called "Eloquent Vessels/Poetics of Power", focusing on the pottery of David Drake.[6]

De Groft stayed in Florida for the early part of his career. He was the director at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art for 11 years, followed by the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, both located in the state.[7] He worked to save the Ca' d'Zan mansion and oversaw the $15 million conservation and restoration budget for the project, after which he was invited to apply to become director of the Muscarelle Museum of Art, a position which he obtained.[8] At Muscarelle, he oversaw "the first-ever international loan exhibition of Botticelli's works" in America.[9] He also arranged for some of Michelangelo's pieces that "almost never tavel" to be shown there in 2013 during the exhibit "Michelangelo: Sacred and Profane;

De Graf married Kathryn Lee (née Gardner) at the Ashland Place United Mehodist Church in Mobile, Alabama, on September 28, 1991.[10] As of 2021, he is married lives in Baldwin Park, Orlando, Florida, and enjoys playing gin rummy with Kathryn.[11] He also enjoys hunting, fishing, and exercising at the gym.[11]

Painter Franz Kline is one of De Groft's favorite artists.[1] Sculptures he appreciates are two works by Michelangelo, the first being Pietà, which he called "beyond amazing", and Rondanini Pietà, which he stated makes him cry.[1]

Bibliography

As author

  • De Graf, Aaron H. Michelangelo: Anatomy as Architecture, Drawings By the Master. (2010) ISBN 978-0970572547
  • De Graf, Aaron H. Caravaggio Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge. (2010) ISBN 978-0970572561

As co-author

  • De Graf, Aaron H.; Weeks, David C. A Pictorial History of John and Mable Ringling. (2003) ISBN 978-0916758493
  • De Graf, Aaron H.; Weeks, David C. Ca d'Zan - Inside the Ringling Mansion. (2004) ISBN 978-0916758479
  • De Graf, Aaron H; Eversely, Fred. Fred Eversley: 50 years an artist: Light & space & energy. (2017) ISBN 978-0996804141

Preface only

  • Woodard, Buck; Moretti-Langholtz, Danielle. Building the Brafferton: The founding, funding, and legacy of America's Indian School. (2019) ISBN 978-0996804158

References

  1. ^ a b c d Nimetz, Karen. "A Masterpiece in the Making". Orlando Family Magazine. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  2. ^ Honker, Carmen (February 13, 2018). "Muscarelle Displays Caravaggio-Style Paintings as a Last Exhibition Before Renovations". Flathat News. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "Today's Speaker: Dr. Aaron De Groft" (PDF). The Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg. November 24, 2010. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  4. ^ "Aaron DeGroft (PhD 2000)". Florida State University. September 23, 2014. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Brown, Edgar Peters, ed. (2017). Buying Baroque: Italian Seventeenth-Century Paintings Come to America. Penn State Press. ISBN 978-0271079448.
  6. ^ De Graf, Aaron (Winter 1999). "Eloquent Vessels/Poetics of Power". Winterthur Portfolio. 33 (4). doi:10.1086/496754. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Sutton, Benjamin (June 29, 2022). "Orlando Museum of Art director fired after FBI raids Basquiat exhibition". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Jones, Chris (May 26, 2017). "Why Williamsburg?". Local Scoop Magazine. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  9. ^ "Spotlight on Alumnus Aaron De Groft, Director of Muscarelle Museum of Art". Florida State University Department of Art History. March 24, 2017. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  10. ^ "Weddings/Engagements". Daily Press. September 28, 1991. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Cardinal, S. T. (April 27, 2021). "CP Interview: OMA's Aaron De Groft's love for art spans from Florence to Florida". The Community Paper. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aaron_De_Groft&oldid=1095775657"