Doreen Bolger had barely settled into her new job as director of the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1998 when she was called on to make the kind of decision that would define her vision for the institution for years to come. A decade earlier the museum had taken its famous collection of paintings by Matisse, Picasso and other modernist masters out of the ornate gilded wooden frames originally selected by Baltimore donors Claribel and Etta Cone and replaced them with simple metal strip frames — a change that set off howls of protest among the museum's more traditionally minded visitors.
Amid this still-raging tempest in a teapot, Ms. Bolger coolly considered the arguments pro and con, then swiftly came to a conclusion: The paintings would go back into their old frames — not just because that had been the Cone sisters' wish but because so many people in Baltimore were passionate about honoring it. Ms. Bolger acted out of a deeply held belief that if the museum was truly to be part of the community, it had to listen to its members and respond to their concerns.
That's been a hallmark of her leadership ever since, and it has served both her and Baltimore well. This week, Ms. Bolger announced she will step down as BMA director in June after 17 years on the job, and she will be missed.
Politicians frequently talk about going on "listening tours" to gauge the public's mood and drum up support for their policies. But that's usually just before an election; after the votes are counted they go back to business as usual and hardly show their faces again for another four years.
Ms. Bolger's listening was of another order altogether, and it went on day after day, week after week and year after year. For nearly two decades those who followed Baltimore's vibrant local art scene were sure to see Ms. Bolger virtually wherever they went, be it at the opening of a major exhibition by the BMA, where she often could be seen chatting delightedly with visitors in the halls, or at a pop-up gallery in a converted industrial building where hip local artists and adventurous collectors gathered. Ms. Bolger made it a point to be there, to appreciate the new and often unconventional artworks young artists were making and to offer the museum's unstinting encouragement.
She will be remembered not only for steering the BMA safely through the worst recession in recent memory but for seeing it emerge from tough economic times stronger and more dedicated its mission than ever. Under her leadership the BMA's budget grew from $9 million to $15.1 million and its endowment nearly doubled, from $56.2 million to $101 million. She oversaw a major re-installation of the museum's famed Cone Collection and American art galleries and greatly expanded its displays of African, Asian and Oceanic art.
But Ms. Bolger may be best remembered for her historic decision in 2006 to join with Walters Art Museum Director Gary Vikan to offer free admission to both their institutions. It was a decision wholly in keeping with her philosophy that museums should be places where everyone feels welcome because they reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. Ms. Bolger brought the same joyous openness to the BMA's exhibition policies, mounting major shows of local and regional artists such as Joyce Scott, Dan Steinhilber and Tom Miller as well as cutting-edge international contemporary art figures such as Kerry James Marshall, Seth Adelsberger, Anri Sala and Zwelethu Mthethwa.
The BMA has been one of the crown jewels of Baltimore's civic life for a century now, having just celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. During those years it has had the great good fortune to be led by men and women who fervently believed in art's unique power to bring people from every walk of life together in celebration of our common cultural heritage. Ms. Bolger enthusiastically embraced that vision and expanded it into every aspect of the BMA's programs and operations. Her tenure saw a great museum become even greater and more closely tied to the community it serves, and for that she deserves the thanks of a grateful city and its people.