Glenn D. Lowry

In this SundayArts profile, Thirteen/WNET president Neal Shapiro interviews Glenn D. Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art.

Recently reappointed as director, MoMA’s permanent collection has grown significantly under Lowry through acquisitions of major works by Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miro, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Philip Guston, Eva Hesse, Lee Bontecou, Bridget Riley, Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Gober, Vija Celmins, Kara Walker, Christopher Wilmarth, Brice Marden, Neo Rauch, Andreas Gursky, Francis Alyes, William Kentridge, Lin TianMiao, and Diller + Scofidio, among many others. Lowry has also renewed MoMA’s longstanding interest in collecting Latin American and Caribbean art, through the creation of the Latin American and Caribbean Fund in support of this activity.

Lowry was responsible for overseeing the landmark expansion and renovation of the Museum by architect Yoshio Taniguchi and directing the $858 million capital campaign, which was successfully completed in 2005, and exceeded its goal by $42 million. As part of the expansion project, Lowry spearheaded the transformation of a former warehouse facility in Long Island City, Queens, into a state-of-the-art study and storage center. Over the past ten years of his leadership, the endowment of the Museum has risen from $275 million to $850 million, membership has risen from 39,000 to 100,000 and annual attendance has increased from 1.65 million to 2.2 million