UMFA's Gretchen Dietrich Joins Prestigious Art Board

UMFA executive director Gretchen Dietrich has been invited to join the board of directors for Art Bridges, a new foundation dedicated to expanding access to American art across the country. This announcement went out nationally from…

UMFA executive director Gretchen Dietrich has been invited to join the board of directors for Art Bridges, a new foundation dedicated to expanding access to American art across the country. This announcement went out nationally from Art Bridges yesterday and to our Utah press contacts this morning. The news is live on our website. Details are in the Art Bridges press release here.

Gretchen joins an impressive roster of respected industry leaders, including the executive directors of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the president of the Ford Foundation, among others.

“This is well-deserved recognition of Gretchen’s expertise and stature among museum leaders across the country,” said Ruth V. Watkins, president of the University of Utah. “Under Gretchen’s management, our Utah Museum of Fine Arts continues to reach new heights. This prestigious appointment elevates Gretchen’s impressive work to the national stage.”

Art Bridges, founded by patron of the arts and philanthropist Alice Walton, is supporting a number of initiatives that are bringing celebrated artworks to the UMFA, including the loan of a painting by renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera, as well as supporting a wide variety of public programs that seek to engage new and diverse audiences. Art Bridges, in partnership with Terra Foundation for American Art, is also supporting a five-year partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum and five museums in the American West to expand access to outstanding works of American art nationwide. Through this project, the UMFA recently received three loaned paintings by major American artists—Georgia O’Keeffe, Thomas Moran, and Alma Thomas—from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. All four loans are on view at the UMFA through October 4, 2020.