THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 17, 1995 TAG: 9510170268
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Robert H. Frankel, director of the Chrysler Museum of Art the past six years, has resigned to take a job at a California museum.
He has been hired as the executive director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, a smaller museum with a prestigious collection ranging from Greek antiquities to contemporary art.
Frankel, 52, announced his resignation to the board Monday afternoon.
The Santa Barbara museum is roughly half the Chrysler's size, but has a similar budget - about $4 million, Frankel said.
He said he accepted the offer because ``it's a wonderful museum, and a beautiful community.''
The museum, he said, ``has very interesting collections, and is going through some very interesting changes.''
One change that excited Frankel is an upcoming addition to the building, which he said will ``allow for some rethinking of the way that collection is going to be seen.''
Frankel's last day is Oct. 31.
While his successor is being sought, Deputy Director Catherine Jordan will be acting director, said board president Roy B. Martin Jr.
``I was very, very surprised, but pleased for him,'' Martin said.
In the next few weeks, the executive committee will meet to discuss plans for hiring a new director, Martin said. He said the board will undergo a national search. No timetable has been set.
``We're not going to panic to find a replacement,'' he said. ``We'll look for the best person.''
Museum officials will be looking for ``a good administrator, an art scholar, and somebody who's a good public relations person,'' Martin said.
Still, he said, ``we've got a good staff here. We'll certainly be able to carry on.''
During his tenure at the Chrysler Museum, Frankel increased the number of changing exhibitions and public programs. Under his leadership, staff members published texts on the museum's collections, created new support groups and boosted membership by a third.
``And there are a lot of other things he did that the public doesn't see,'' Martin said. ``As a manager, he always kept his doors open. He has a very warm personality, and won a lot of support from people in the community.''
The Chrysler's budget tightened in recent years, with cutbacks from both state and city funding sources. The 1995-96 budget is about $4 million, with $1.9 million from the city and $450,000 from state coffers, Martin said.
Operating with shrinking funds, the Chrysler was able to increase programs.
``We have a good staff here, and a wonderful board,'' Frankel said. ``These are terrific people who get the most out of everything they do.''
Fiscally, ``the museum is OK,'' Frankel stressed. ``There is the issue of diminishing governmental support, but that's something every institution in the state faces.''
Frankel said he felt optimistic about the Chrysler's future.
``The point is, this institution has a collection that is so glorious, is so important. And it is so much a part of this community, that it will continue.''
Before coming to Norfolk, Frankel was director of Miami's Center for the Fine Arts. He also directed Wilmington's Delaware Art Museum from 1980 to 1985 and was curator and assistant director at the Phoenix Art Museum from 1971 to 1980. by CNB