COURTESY SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
The Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., has added Elizabeth A. Eisenstein and Deborah Willis to its board of commissioners, which meets twice a year and advises the director on various matters, including proposed acquisitions. Both will serve on the board for a four-year term.
Eisenstein was most recently chairman of the college board of advisors at Georgetown University. She is a member and adviser for the organization A Better Chance and has been working with the Vatican to discuss the role of women in the Catholic Church.
Willis is the chair of NYU’s Department of Photo & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts. She has written various photography books, most notably Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present, and has been a member of the executive committee of the boards of the College Art Association and the chairperson of the Society for Photographic Education.
Stephanie Stebich, the director of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, said in a statement, “These two new commissioners bring important expertise and connections to help fulfill SAAM’s mission of celebrating the creativity of artists whose work reflect the American experience and global connections.”