CLEVELAND.- The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), home of one of the world’s most important encyclopedic art collections, announces the appointment of Dr. C. Griffith Mann as the Chief Curator of the museum. Mann will assume his duties at the CMA in early September.

“Griff has exceptionally strong and broad experience in our field, with a solid grounding in both scholarship and curatorial work as well as in museum administration. What’s also very nice is that he began his career as an intern in the education department here 16 years ago and became intimately familiar with the museum and our collection,” said Timothy Rub, director of the CMA.

Mann arrives at an important moment as the CMA is now in the midst of the largest renovation and expansion in its history and is moving forward with a comprehensive reinstallation and reinterpretation of its permanent collection. Designed by acclaimed architect Rafael Viñoly, this $350 million project will increase the museum’s size by nearly 200,000 square feet.

"I am thrilled to return to the Cleveland Museum of Art during this time of transformation," said Mann. "The renovation and expansion of the museum affords us an unprecedented opportunity to explore new ways of installing and interpreting the collection for the public. For an art scholar and educator at heart, this is an invigorating responsibility and I look forward to working closely with a talented professional staff."

As Chief Curator at the CMA, Mann will oversee 11 curatorial departments. He will work closely with the director and curators to sustain and strengthen the museum’s nationally recognized program of special exhibitions and to continue to develop its renowned permanent collection.

Mann brings more than 17 years of museum experience to the CMA. Since March 2007, he has served as director of the curatorial division at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore where he oversees seven collections departments, the office of the registrar, photography, the library and curatorial publications and installations and research on the Walters’ encyclopedic collection. Prior to being promoted to this position, he served as co-director of the curatorial division and assistant director for curatorial affairs at the Walters, managing its nationally recognized fellowship program, developing strategies for digitizing the collection and expanding the museum’s presence on the Internet. He has also served as the assistant, associate and full curator of medieval art during his tenure there.

Mann’s exhibition and scholarship work runs deep at the Walters. He organized the exhibition Sacred Arts and City Life: The Glory of Medieval Novgorod, which The New York Times praised for its success in connecting visitors not only with the art of a distant place and time, but also with the people who produced and used that art. He also contributed to the exhibition The Book of Kings: Art, War, and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible. He has contributed essays to several books and catalogues, including Picturing the Bible in the Thirteenth Century, The Lion Companion to Christian Art, and Ethiopian Art: The Walters Art Museum.

Mann strengthened the Walters’ curatorial fellowship program, prompting an invitation from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to endow a post-doctoral fellowship program. The Walters was one of only three museums to receive this endowment challenge. He was also involved in leading a major institutional technology initiative that offers innovative ways of promoting and presenting the Walters' collections online.

He attended the Museum Leadership Institute at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and was awarded research fellowships from The Walters Art Museum and The Johns Hopkins University. Prior to his career in Baltimore, Mann worked as an educator in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art.

Mann holds a bachelor’s degree in history and art history from Williams College, and a master’s degree in art history and a doctoral degree in the history of medieval art from The Johns Hopkins University. He will be moving to Cleveland with his wife and their three children. He is an avid baseball fan and outdoor enthusiast.