Graham W. J. Beal was the Director, President and CEO of the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...

, from 1999 to 2015.

Background

Beal was born in Stratford-on-Avon,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He has degrees in English and

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

and the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

Early career

Prior to his tenure at the DIA, he was director of the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 19 ...

from 1996 to 1999. He was director of the

Joslyn Art Museum The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States. Located in Omaha, it was opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn. It is the only m ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

, from 1989 to 1996 and served as chief curator at the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

from 1984 to 1989.

Detroit Institute of Arts

Beal was hired in 1999 as the Director and President of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). During his early days, Beal was embroiled in several controversies over the suppression of contemporary exhibitions, despite his identification as an advocate of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic ...

. The first example of this was in 1999, when Beal shut down an exhibit Jef Bourgeau had been invited to create. Beal called Bourgeau to his office, while museum staffers acting under Beal's orders padlocked the exhibit. In 2012, the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

increased Beal's salary from $455,453 to $514,000 annually. The same year the DIA asked voters in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland Counties to approve an increase on their

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inher ...

es to help the DIA solve its financial problems and keep its doors open. Beal also received a $50,000 bonus in 2012 plus another 50,000 in 2013.Jennifer Chambers, "DIA board pays back $90K for execs' 2013 bonuses" ''The Detroit News'' November 6, 2014 http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/metro-detroit/2014/11/06/dia-bonuses/18628437/ Initially, the raises and loans were not made public. In 2014, the DIA filed tax returns for 2012 which disclosed Beal's raise and bonus. The disclosure caused much anger among Wayne, Macomb and Oakland County taxpayers. "The public rallied around the DIA, and this is the thanks they got?" Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson asked. Oakland County Commissioners threatened to stop Oakland County's participation in the DIA millage. On November 5, 2014, the DIA board repaid the museum for Beal's 2013 bonus with the board chairman Eugene Gargaro apologizing for "mistakes which we regret". On January 8, 2015, Beal announced he was stepping down on June 30. Two months later, Beal's pay continues to generate negative headlines for the DIA.

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan ...

officials continue to be at the forefront of opposition to a retroactive raise for Beal. Lawmakers want to make the DIA subject to the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

.''Oakland Press'': 'Macomb, Oakland lawmakers want DIA to be subject to Open Meetings, FOI acts' by Mitch Hotts. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20150827/macomb-oakland-lawmakers-want-dia-to-be-subject-to-open-meetings-foi-acts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beal, Graham W. J. Directors of museums in the United States Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People associated with the Detroit Institute of Arts People associated with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art English emigrants to the United States People from Stratford-upon-Avon Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Alumni of the University of Manchester