Contact:  Mary C. Hickey       
607-734-3697, Ext 131
maryhickey@arnotartmuseum.org

 

May 9, 2007

 

 

Elmira, NY—The Board of Trustees of the Arnot Art Museum has announced the retirement of John D. O’Hern, Executive Director and Curator.  O’Hern, who has been with the museum since 1989, will continue his work as Sculpture Editor and columnist for “American Art Collector Magazine” and will be a major contributor for the soon-to-be-launched “Western Art Collector Magazine”.  His retirement from the museum is effective May 11, 2007
 
Mila Meier, President of the Board of Trustees, said “John O’Hern has been with the Arnot Museum for 18 years, some of the most productive years in the history of the Museum.  He has curated a number of extraordinary shows, has developed many wonderful programs, and has brought national attention to this Museum.  The Board and the community are so grateful for all he has done for our Museum and we wish him well in his retirement.”

 

John O’Hern has been Director of the Arnot Art Museum since 1989 and its Curator since 1994.  Under his direction, the museum has become a nationally-recognized center for representational art.  The museum’s biennial exhibitions of contemporary representational art have been cited on CNN in 250 countries, as well as in ARTnews, and American Artist Magazine.  In 1998 the museum received an Arts Partnership Award from Bravo, the film and arts network, and Time Warner Cable for its “contribution to and support of the arts in Elmira.”  Bravo featured the museum, Mr. O’Hern, and Re-presenting Representation in one of its programs.

As a result of the museum’s concentration on contemporary realism, Mr. O’Hern has written catalogue essays for publications in Canada, Europe, and the United States and has been a guest speaker across the United States.

 

The museum’s Chemung River School project, Artists Workshops, and Creative Arts Program were begun under his direction and encouragement. 

 

Mr. O’Hern has been a Museum Assessment Program reviewer for the American Association of Museums and is a member of the Association’s Visiting Committee.  He was a member of the President’s Council of Elmira College and served as a community advisor to the Junior League of the Elmira-Corning Area. 

Mr. O’Hern was a member of the Cultural Advisory Committee which preceded the formation of The ARTS of the Southern Finger Lakes, and served on the Board of The ARTS from 1993 to 1996, where he was also chairman of the Collaborations Committee.  He is former chairman of the Visual Artists Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts.  The ARTS awarded Mr. O’Hern its coveted Arts Partnership Award in 2000.

 

Before coming to Elmira, Mr. O’Hern was Assistant to the Director for Publications and Public Relations at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, Executive Director of the Kenan Center, in Lockport, NY, and resident Curator of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House at the University of Buffalo.  The Martin House was named a National Historic Landmark under his curatorship.  He organized the first annual conference for Wright home owners and operators while at the Martin House, and was featured in The New York Times Sunday Magazine in an article on restoration.

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