DALLAS, TX.- SMU has named Amanda W. Dotseth Linda P. and William A. Custard Director of the
Meadows Museum. Dotseth, who will be the first female director of the Meadows Museum, served as the director ad interim and curator of the Museum since the passing of its previous director, Mark A. Roglán, in 2021.
Dotseth assumes the role March 1, 2023.
As a scholar, collaborator and arts leader, Amanda Dotseth brings a unique understanding of the important mission and role of the Meadows Museum, said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. In addition, her many years as curator, then interim director has prepared her to position the Museum for the future while understanding its legacy.
In her combined 19 years of experience with the Museum, Dotseth published extensively on Spanish art, contributed to and curated more than 30 exhibitions and oversaw the acquisition of major additions to the Meadows collection.
Notably, Dotseth was an instrumental participant in the early development of the historic partnership between the Meadows Museum and Madrids Museo Nacional del Prado in 2009, in which the Prado loaned three major paintings and exchanged curatorial fellows between the institutions. She played an integral role in the pioneering collaboration with Fundación ARCO in 2019 as well. By initiating and cultivating partnerships with international art institutions from the Rijksmuseum and National Gallery of Ireland to the Museo del Traje in Madrid and the Museo del Arte Abstracto Español (Fundación Juan March), Dotseth has expanded the reach and profile of the Meadows Museum and of SMU. Dotseths existing partnerships with academic and art institutions around the world, including the Spanish National Research Council, will be a tremendous asset for the Museum as she continues its mission to advance the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the arts and culture of Spain in the US.
In addition to her nearly two decades with the Museum, Dotseth is also an alumna of SMU Meadows School of the Arts, receiving her masters degree in art history from the University in 2006. She later completed her Ph.D. at the Courtauld Institute of Art (University of London) in medieval Spanish art in 2015.
After an extensive international search, I am thrilled that the best person to serve as the next director of the Meadows Museum is an extremely accomplished member of the SMU Meadows community, said Samuel S. Holland, Algur H. Meadows Dean for SMU Meadows School of the Arts. I look forward to seeing the new directions in which Dr. Dotseth will take the Museum, through her collaborative and innovative leadership, and strong curatorial voice.
The Meadows Museum has been a part of my professional DNA for two decades; to now be at the helm of the institution as the Linda P. and William A. Custard Director during the next phase of the museum's life is a great honor, said Dotseth. I look forward to building upon and expanding the Museums existing strengths as we reach out to the next generation of scholars, students, and museum-goers.