Photography by PETER ROSS AND COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

GLENN D. LOWRY

MoMA Director

The MoMA director is stepping down this fall. Over 30 years, he oversaw two renovations, one merger, and a dramatically expanded definition of what it means to lead a museum.

WHAT DO YOU WANT NEXT FOR YOURSELF ABOVE ALL ELSE? To be able to ride my bike seven days a week.

WHAT IS YOUR TRADEMARK? Purple socks.

WHAT’S COMING UP FOR YOU IN 2025? I am looking forward to stepping down as the director of MoMA in September and focusing on a series of lectures that I will give at the end of the fall at the Louvre.

“The cultural theorist Homi Bhabha.”

WHAT’S SOMETHING PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT YOU? I am often thought of as very competitive. Just ask my wife! But I am really only competitive with myself.

WHO DO YOU CALL THE MOST? The cultural theorist Homi Bhabha.

WHAT’S ONE BOOK, WORK OF ART, OR FILM THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE? I have spent a lot of time, especially during the last five years with the difficulties of the pandemic and everything that happened after it, thinking about Jack Whitten’s magisterial 2014 painting Atopolis: For Édouard Glissant. It is an extraordinary work of art that is all about the power of creativity and the boundless horizons of the human imagination.

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

You’ve almost hit your limit.

You’re approaching your limit of complementary articles. For expanded access, become a digital subscriber for less than $2 a week.

You’re approaching your limit of complementary articles. For expanded access, become a digital subscriber for less than $2 a week.

GET ACCESS. 

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here

You’re approaching your limit of complementary articles. For expanded access, become a digital subscriber for less than $2 a week.

GET ACCESS. 

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here

Want more in your life?

For less than the price of a cocktail, you can help independent journalism thrive.

Pop-Up-1_c

GET ACCESS.

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here
Pop-Up-1_c

GET ACCESS.

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here

Want more in your life?

For less than the price of a cocktail, you can help independent journalism thrive.

Pop-Up-1_c
GET ACCESS.
Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here
Pop-Up-1_c

GET ACCESS.

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here

You’ve almost hit your limit.

You’re approaching your limit of complementary articles. For expanded access, become a digital subscriber for less than $2 a week.

You’re approaching your limit of complementary articles. For expanded access, become a digital subscriber for less than $2 a week.
GET ACCESS.
Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here
You’re approaching your limit of complementary articles. For expanded access, become a digital subscriber for less than $2 a week.

GET ACCESS.

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here

Want more in your life?

For less than the price of a cocktail, you can help independent journalism thrive.

Pop-Up-1_c

GET ACCESS.

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here

Pop-Up-1_c

GET ACCESS.

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here

We have so much more to tell you.

You’ve reached your limit.

Sign up for a digital subscription, starting at less than $2 a week.

GET ACCESS.

Already a Subscriber? Sign in Here

Want a seat at the table? To continue reading this article, sign up today.

Support independent criticism for $10/month (or just $110/year).

Join Here

Already a subscriber? Log in.