Copyright Hartford Courant
A high-ranking leader of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York will become the next chief executive officer of The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford at a pivotal point in its nearly two century history as the nation’s oldest public art museum. Allison Blais, chief of operations and strategy at the 9/11 complex in Manhattan, will assume the top post at The Wadsworth on Jan. 7, as the arts institution is challenged to build on recent gains balancing a rich history of exhibiting fine art with responding to the rapidly-evolving interests of the local community. Blais, a Hartford area native, will succeed Jeffrey N. Brown who is retiring after assuming the helm in 2021 — taking on a turnaround that came at a tumultuous time for the 183-year-old institution. The Wadsworth had shaken up its management in an effort to shed an image that it was too stodgy and didn’t connect well with the city’s Black and Latinx communities. Since then, the museum has worked to further its ties with the community, curating exhibits and a wide range of programs with more diverse appeal. Blais told The Courant she wasn’t necessarily looking for a new position. But the changes at The Wadsworth under the leadership of Brown and the board of trustees made the offer to serve as CEO a compelling one. “The museum has undergone a real internal cultural turnaround, has shored up its financial stability and is really embracing a renewed sense of identity and purpose,” Blais said. “There is certainly just a real commitment to being both the timeless museum that the Wadsworth always was and timely.” In addition to broadening its focus, the museum also was faced in 2021 with recovering from a devastating pandemic that shut down arts institutions nationwide, cutting deeply into visits, memberships and finances. Brown, a former banking executive, navigated those waters while building the foundation of a new management structure — and culture — at The Wadsworth. The approach — a bit controversial in the museum world — separated responsibilities for operations and finances — placing them with the CEO — and created the post of artistic director to oversee exhibitions and programs. The Wadsworth is now rolling out a rebranding campaign built around a new logo that shortens the museum’s name to “The Wadsworth.” The new logo — focusing solely on the new name — sheds the depiction of the museum’s original structure, which resembles a castle and the word “atheneum” — both seen as too off-putting and left potential visitors wondering how the image and word related to their lives, museum officials said. Next year, The Wadsworth also plans a $1 million-plus renovation to its Avery Court entrance, an increasing popular access to the museum for visitors parking at Front Street. Brown, 68, said he considers his five years as CEO as a time of transition, setting the museum in a new direction and positioning it for future growth. Now, initiatives must be set into motion over years “and that requires somebody who’s going to be here a lot longer than me,” Brown said. “That was really part of the decision-making process,” Brown said, of his retirement. “Yes, on the one hand, it feels premature. But, on the other hand, this next generation is going to take some time, and I can’t be here another five years, so it really was the right time.” ‘Memory of public trust’ Blais, 47, will step into the top executive post with clear signs that the Wadsworth is recovering from a devastating pandemic downturn and poised for growth. Attendance is still well below the most recent pre-pandemic peak of 107,800 in fiscal year 2019, but has shown a steady uptick. In fiscal 2025, which ended June 30, the numbers climbed to 79,179 from a low of 37,384 in fiscal 2021, in teeth of Covid, according to The Wadsworth. Memberships — crucial to the museum’s financial well-being — grew by 16% over the last three fiscal years. The museum also said it is bolstering its finances. Operating losses, which do not include one-time charges due to artwork acquisitions, most recently peaked at $1.043 million in fiscal 2023 and had been reduced to $742,000 in the last fiscal year. Operating losses for the current fiscal year are on track to be cut in half from the previous year, according to the museum. Last year, The Wadsworth also drew a heady mention when The Washington Post placed the Hartford museum on a list of the Top 20 museums in country, it’s 18th place ranking above The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Dallas Museum of Art. The appointment of Blais follows a nationwide search that stretches back more than a year and initially involved consideration of several dozen candidates, museum officials said. Duffield Ashmead IV, senior vice president of Wadsworth’s board of trustees, said the board was impressed with Blais’ deep experience of increasing responsibility in operations in an organization with “a lot of moving parts.” The board also took note of her experience in strategic planning, big-ticket projects and dealing with government agencies. Blais also has the demonstrated ability to navigate between numerous and varied constituencies, Ashmead, a hand-and-wrist surgeon, said. In New York, that meant the families of those who died in the attacks on the twin-towered World Trade Center; the police and fire departments involved; the construction crews and the public-private partnerships designing, funding and building the museum and memorial. “And trying to keep all of those different constituencies engaged, balanced and happy, which has clearly, based on the news media anyway, been a bit of a challenge,” Ashmead said. “In some respects, it was, I thought, remarkable.” On paper, Ashmead said, Blais appears as someone “who is entirely driven by the facts, figures, charts and so forth and there’s no question that she has that.” “But frankly, once we met her, were were floored by her soft skills,” Ashmead said. “She is charming and engaged — a real people person. I think that will endear her to the museum community both internal and external.” Blais’ experience at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum spanned 21 years of increasing responsibility. Her career there was transformative — both personally and professionally — and it is something she will bring to Hartford, Blais said. “I’ve learned what it means to hold memory of public trust with care,” Blais said. “And listen closely across different perspectives. And to plan for every scenario while staying deeply human in how you respond.” Blais grew up in Avon, her interest in culture and the arts fostered by her parents and teachers. She remembers well trips into Hartford to The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, The Wadsworth and what she describes as “another kind of culture:” Whalers hockey games at the old Hartford Civic Center. “I remember completely the feeling of awe walking into a great cultural space like The Wadsworth as a kid, and that sense of awe never left me,” Blais said. “I know how powerful it is to discover a place like this, here in your own backyard. How many people still don’t realize that this treasure chest is here for them.” Blais graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University and later received a master degree in American Studies from Columbia University. Blais described being chosen to lead the Wadsworth as “the best kind of homecoming.” “What excited me is to be able to deepen relationships with neighborhoods and communities,” Blais said. “So the museum is really part of everyday life. It’s a place to come to be surprised, to gather and to really feel at home.” Ashmead and museum officials declined to comment on what salary Blais will be paid. Brown earned a salary of $347,846, according to a Form 990 tax filing for fiscal 2024. ‘A bumpy road’ When Brown assumed leadership at The Wadsworth — first on an interim basis coming from a seat on the board of trustees and then permanently five years ago — there was no doubt The Wadsworth would continue to focus on the artistic excellence for which the museum is known, Brown said. But the goal was, at the same time, to provide new entry points for the public to the museum, Brown said. “Those ranging from programs for “Old Master” aficionados to programs that offer a different experience, everything from lectures by prominent authors and artists to music performances, Brown said. “But also a couple of weeks ago, we had a murder mystery in [the] museum that brought in 250 people to solve a murder mystery, but also gave them an introduction to the museum,” Brown said. “A lot of the people were here for the first time.” The museum exists in what Brown described as an “experiential economy” — meaning people are looking for new experiences and the museum must respond. Brown credited The Wadsworth’s Matthew Hargraves, hired as artistic director three years ago, as at the forefront of more diverse exhibitions. In 2024, for instance, “Styling Identities: Hair’s Tangled Histories” sought to help visitors see hair styles differently or perhaps for the first time. The exhibit was co-curated by representatives of many different departments at the Wadsworth as well as The Amistad Center for Art & Culture and a community advisory board. Nearly 20 different individuals or institutions (among them some local salons) were credited with creating the exhibit. The museum also is mining its collection of 50,000 individual pieces of artwork, of which just a sliver — about 5,000 — are on display at any one time. Last year’s “Divine Geometry” highlighted The Wadsworth’s collection of Islamic art that has been rarely part of an exhibition. “Ninety percent of that exhibit were items that have been in collection for 100 years but have never been on display before,” Brown said. Brown said he will remain active in the community, including serving as an honorary trustee at The Bushnell where he chairs a committee involved in the partnership with the Warner Theater in Torrington. He also looks forward to more leisure time to visit his family, including four grandchildren, and travel with his wife, Virginia. Ashmead, the museum trustees board senior vice president, praised Brown’s contributions, particularly taking on the division of operations and artistic direction. The management structure is common in the performing arts, but not so among museums, Ashmead said. But it has worked well in The Wadsworth’s case, with Brown fostering collaboration under a calm, steady guidance, Ashmead said. “The Wadsworth had a bumpy road over the past decade or so,” Ashmead said. “We’re in a good place internally, and we’re in a good place in developing relevance and connection to our constituencies. And it’s a wonderful place to be as we look to move to the next level.” Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
