VIA LINKEDIN
The Washington Post reports today that the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has appointed Washington-based businessman and art collector Daniel H. Sallick as board chairman. Sallick will be replacing Peggy Burnet, who has stepped down as chairwoman but will continue to serve as a trustee. In an interview with the Post, director Melissa Chiu called attention to the fact that Sallick will be the first locally based board chair in 12 years, adding, “He knows Washington and we’re interested in expanding our Washington audience. About 20 percent of [our] audience is local, and that’s high for a Smithsonian [museum] but we’d like to expand it.”
The museum’s board now totals 24 members. This number has doubled since Chiu arrived as director in October 2014, according to the Post, which further reported that museum patrons J. Tomilson Hill and Janine Hill—former board chairman and current board member, respectively—have donated $500,000 to the institution in support of Sallick’s election.