Lisa Suter Taylor (1933–1991) was an American artist and museum director. Taylor served as the first director of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design from 1969 to 1987, and was the first woman director of a museum within the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Early life and education

Taylor was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the daughter of architect Theo von Bergen-Maier and painter Martina Weincerl. She trained as a painter, ceramist, and calligrapher, studying at the

Corcoran School of Art The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, DC.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts and ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, and

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. She was awarded honorary doctorates from the

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

and

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

Career

From 1958 to 1962 Taylor was a staff member of the President's Fine Arts Commission. From 1962 to 1966 she was the membership director at the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

. In 1966 she started at the Smithsonian as a Program Director, where she developed a successful education program.

Cooper Hewitt - Smithsonian Design Museum

The collection of the

Museum came under the wing of the Smithsonian in 1967. Shortly after, the

Andrew Carnegie Mansion The Andrew Carnegie Mansion is a historic house located at 2 East 91st Street at Fifth Avenue in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York. Andrew Carnegie moved into his newly completed mansion in late 1902 and lived there unti ...

was donated to the Smithsonian in 1968 to become the new home for the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design. After its transfer to the Smithsonian, the museum was renamed the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, and Taylor was appointed director in 1969. This made her the first ever woman to lead a Smithsonian museum. In the following 4 years, Taylor and her staff raised over $6 million for the renovation of the mansion and formation of the museum. After being closed since 1963, the museum opened to the public in 1976. The first exhibition was ''MAN transFORMS,'' with

Hans Hollein Hans Hollein (30 March 1934 – 24 April 2014) was an Austrian architect and designer

and nine designers. While at the museum, Taylor oversaw the development of a Master's degree in Decorative Arts and developed both adult and young-person education programs. In her time as director, she presented 175 exhibitions in the museum, and enjoyed mixing more serious exhibits with humorous ones. The Jewish Museum New York

In 1979, Taylor created the annual Museum Mile Festival, a one-day, free festival on New York City's Fifth Avenue where cultural institutions are open to the public. She was awarded the Smithsonian's Exceptional Service Award in 1973. After she retired as director in 1987, she was succeeded by Dianne Pilgrim.

Personal life

Taylor was married, with two children and three step children. In addition to a New York apartment, Taylor enjoyed spending time at her house that she built in

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

. A Japanese-style house designed by architect Teruo Hara. Everything in the house was made for the space, from the furniture, to the dishes, to the toilet paper racks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Lisa 1933 births 1991 deaths People from New York City Directors of museums in the United States Women museum directors Smithsonian Institution people