The Art Institute of Chicago on Wednesday named curator Douglas Druick its president, removing the interim tag on the European art expert who took over for departed head James Cuno in June.
Tom Pritzker, chairman of the Art Institute's board of trustees, said Druick "is one of the leading curators in the world, and his contributions over more than two decades have been immeasurably important to the development and presentations of the collections as well as the exhibitions at the museum."
Druick, 66, who received his graduate degrees from Yale University, has chaired two of the museum's 11 curatorial departments during his 26 years at the institution.
He conceived and organized exhibitions on Degas, Redon, Caillebotte, Van Gogh and Gauguin, Manet, Seurat, Cezanne and Picasso, and Jasper Johns.
Cuno left to head the Getty Trust in Los Angeles after overseeing the opening of the Art Institute's $300 million Modern Wing in 2009. The Renzo Piano-designed expansion made the Art Institute the second-largest art museum in the United States.