When Lee Glazer stepped into her new role as Senior Curator at the Academy Art Museum (AAM) a couple of months ago, she brought with her more than just an impressive resume – she also carried a genuine passion for connecting art with the local community.
Her academic achievements were also notable. She received her Ph.D. in art history from the University of Pennsylvania, her MA in English literature from Yale, and a BA in art history from George Mason University. She has lectured and published on various art historical topics, including the artist James McNeill Whistler and American aestheticism.
Raised in the heart of Washington DC, not too far from her new gig in Easton, Glazer jokingly claims to be a true DC native, though her kids, true city natives, always remind her she grew up in the “wilds of Northern Virginia.” Nonetheless, she has stayed closely tied to her DC connections, except for a brief stint in central Maine.
Her professional journey has taken her to some of the most prestigious art institutions in the country, including 12 years as Curator of American Art at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery, where she delved deeply into 19th-century Transatlantic aesthetic art, with a particular focus on the work of James McNeill Whistler. Her interests then took her to Colby College in Maine, where Glazer spearheaded transformative initiatives at the college’s art museum as the inaugural director of the Lunder Institute for American Art. She did this while keeping a home in DC, traveling back and forth between Maine and DC, where her husband was running a business.
When COVID hit, the long-distance commute became untenable, and Glazer returned to DC and took a job at the National Archives as the Director of their Museum Programs. Stepping away from the art world and into the realm of governmental archives represented a significant shift in her career, and after three years, Glazer realized how much she missed being surrounded by art and artists. That’s when she heard about AAM looking for a Senior Curator. “When this position came up,” she said, “my husband and I took a little reconnaissance trip to Easton one Sunday–there’s not much open in Easton on Sundays–but there was enough to see that, wow, a lot of really interesting things are happening here.”
It felt like a natural step for Glazer. “The thing that was really appealing is the progress the museum has gone through and how it’s poised to go to even the next level.”
That next level involves a new phase of growth and expansion for AAM, including new exhibitions, a modern storage annex for the art, and an expansion of the permanent collection. It’s a win/win for both sides. AAM looks forward to her expertise in crafting engaging exhibitions, while Glazer is all about connecting art with people and is thrilled about being part of an institution grounded in the community. That’s what she missed, during her time at the National Archives, she said, “The real opportunity to give people the kind of wonder and inspiration that you can only get from seeing real works of art up close.”
Eager to give the public opportunities to engage with art pieces, she also got to experience that firsthand. Her interview for the AAM job happened on the opening day of waterfowl weekend. “I got to see how a group in the community takes over the museum for a period of time. And how that brings new people into the museum.”
Building connections with diverse audiences is a crucial priority for Glazer. She recognizes that varying the types of exhibitions and programming can help expand the museum’s reach and appeal to a wider range of visitors. “You can’t really aspire to have every exhibition appeal to everyone because then it’ll satisfy no one,” she said. “But over time you have a varied enough approach and array of material that you bring people in. And maybe once you’ve brought them in, then you can challenge them.”
One approach that Glazer would like to explore is creating a loop between the DC and Easton art worlds. “Since I’ve been based in DC for so long, it would be really interesting to do a show about Washington artists and art educators—similar to the show that recently opened at the Anacostia Community Museum.”
But that will be for the future. For now, one of Glazer’s first initiatives will be a retrospective exhibition on the work of modernist painter Blanche Lazzell, a West Virginia native whose story Glazer is eager to share. A grant from Art Bridges is making the exhibit possible. This nonprofit helps smaller regional museums secure loans for individual works of art and assists with the organization and bringing in of big loan exhibitions that smaller institutions like the Academy don’t have the staffing or infrastructure to manage on their own.
“This is part of a larger effort in the art world to expand the canon and bring some of these lesser-known but important stories to light,” Glazer said. “So we’re lucky to bring this show, which originated at the University of West Virginia, to Easton. It will open in late July after Plein Air.”
Glazer’s enthusiasm, passion, and vision for the AAM is palpable. She’s excited to leverage the museum’s collection to engage the local community. She also looks forward to highlighting underrepresented artists and connecting the Eastern Shore and the broader art world. She is eager to make her mark and help AAM reach new creative heights. Her new job marks a new chapter for the museum and its community.
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