Gerald Nordland

1927 - 2019

Gerald "Jerry" Nordland

July 10, 1927 – January 15, 2019

Gerald Nordland, noted museum director, art critic, educator and author, died in Chicago on January 15, 2019. He was 91.

Among his many accomplishments, he was director of the Milwaukee Art Museum (1977–85), where he expanded collections, departments and exhibitions, improved the quality of its publications, and obtained AAM accreditation. As director of the UCLA Wight Art Gallery (1973–77), he organized early exhibitions of Burri, Diebenkorn and the Fourteen Abstract Painters show. At the San Francisco Museum of Art (now SFMOMA) (1966–73), he redefined the collection's intellectual thrust and doubled its size. As director of the Washington Gallery of Modern Art (1964–66), he mounted important exhibitions of Albers, Hofmann, Tworkov, Mondrian, and the Washington Color Painters. As dean of the Chouinard Art Institute (1960–64), he established a new curriculum and obtained regional and national accreditation, and oversaw its merger with the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music to form the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).

In his long career, he co-founded Artforum magazine and was author of over 60 publications, including significant books on Lachaise, Nakian, Diebenkorn and Frank Lloyd Wright.