Nelson-Atkins Director And CEO Announces Retirement

Kansas City, MO – The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's Director and CEO, Marc Wilson, is stepping down after nearly three decades. KCUR's Laura Spencer reports.

The museum's fourth director since opening in 1933, Marc Wilson oversaw the transformation and expansion that included the opening of the Bloch Building in 2007, which received much critical acclaim. Newly expanded and reinstalled American galleries opened to the public April 22, 2009, and expanded Native American galleries open in November.

During Wilson's tenure, the museum acquired masterworks in every department, including the iconic shuttlecocks and Thomas Hart Benton's Persephone. "What we've been doing as we expand the collections is trying to make sure that those great works of art are more and more meaningful to more and more of our fellow citizens," says Wilson. "It's that simple a model."

Marc Wilson retires in June 2010. The trustees have launched an international search for his successor.