CINCINNATI, OH.- The Taft Museum of Art’s Deputy Director and the Sallie Robinson Wadsworth Chief Curator Lynne D. Ambrosini, PhD, has been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (The Order of Arts and Letters) by the Government of France for her contributions to the promotion of French language and culture.

Guillaume Lacroix, Consul General of France to the Midwest, traveled from Chicago to present the important award on behalf of the French Government on Thursday, February 20. The award recognizes the achievements of individuals who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world.

Ambrosini’s relationship with France and its art has been a life-long passion. After decades on researching and publishing books and articles on French art, she led the effort to curate Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh: Impressions of Landscape, which she co-organized with the Scottish National Galleries in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The exhibition brought international recognition to the Taft Museum of Art and the Cincinnati region when it opened here in February 2016 before traveling to Edinburgh and Amsterdam. Some 350,000 people viewed the exhibition in all its venues. Daubigny, a central figure in the development of 19th-century French landscape painting and a key mentor for the Impressionists, had never been the subject of a major international exhibition previously.

“I am profoundly honored and touched by the award from the French government because of my deep respect and admiration for France, its rich culture, superlative visual heritage, and intellectual ferment. I will always be grateful to the Taft Museum of Art for encouraging and supporting my study of French art.”—Lynne D. Ambrosini, PhD, Deputy Director and the Sallie Robinson Wadsworth Chief Curator, Taft Museum of Art

This award comes at the peak of Ambrosini’s career and as she announces her retirement effective March 2, 2020 from the Taft Museum of Art. Ambrosini has spent the past 16 years of her distinguished career with the Museum. During her tenure, her position received a generous endowment from Sallie Robinson Wadsworth, a long-time friend of the Museum.

“The Taft Museum of Art has been fortunate to have had Ambrosini heading our curatorial and collections team since 2004. We at the Taft and those in our community have benefitted from her intellect, professionalism, insights, high standards, and character.”—Deborah Emont Scott, Louise Taft Semple President/CEO, Taft Museum of Art.

Lynne D. Ambrosini:
Ambrosini received a B.A. summa cum laude in English literature from Pomona College, in Claremont, California, and then a M.A. and Ph.D. in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University with emphasis on European and American art 1760–1960 and a specialization in 19th-century French painting and sculpture. She has published articles and books on such artists as Jean-François Millet, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Auguste Rodin and has been an invited speaker at many conferences and symposia on topics in French 19th-century art.

Since 2004, she has overseen the collections and exhibitions at the Taft, where she substantially expanded the exhibition programs. Previously, she served as a curator of paintings at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Brooklyn Museum. Her exhibitions for the Taft Museum of Art include: Hiram Powers: Genius in Marble (2007), Brush/Clay/Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art (2008), and Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh: Impressions of Landscape (2016).