Richard Armstrong, the longtime director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation who stepped down last year after 15 years in the role, has no interest in retiring: this week, he was elected to the board of directors of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.
Adding a seasoned art-world leader to the board comes at a high-stakes moment for the foundation. In addition to being a champion of environmental causes through its Climate Initiative grants ($15m and counting), it is preparing to support a major Frankenthaler retrospective at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, timed to the artist’s centenary in 2028, that will then travel internationally. The foundation is also in the midst of an ongoing legal dispute between several of the late artist’s family members.
The board’s president, the artist Clifford Ross, said in a statement that Armstrong’s track record “makes him an ideal partner as we navigate a global art world—with both our philanthropy and Helen’s work; he will be integral to building a legacy of which Helen would be proud”.
