Lynda Roscoe Hartigan has been appointed as the new director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in Washington, DC, effective September 8. She returns to SAAM, where she began her career and later served as chief curator, from her current position as executive director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. She succeeds acting director Jane Carpenter-Rock, who will remain as deputy director.
Hartigan's appointment is significant as she takes the helm of a major national collection during a period of intense political scrutiny for the Smithsonian Institution. The Trump administration's efforts to root out what it deems "improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology" have led to leadership vacancies at several Smithsonian museums, including the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Hartigan's deep curatorial experience with American art and her institutional history position her to navigate these challenges.