WHEREAS, Douglas Druick of the Art Institute of Chicago has announced his intention to retire from his post after thirty distinguished years of service to the institution as Curator, and Museum President and Eloise W. Martin Director; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of his retirement by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, Douglas Druick is one of the most influential, admired, and respected museum presidents in the world; and
WHEREAS, Douglas Druick earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Philosophy from McGill University in Montreal in 1966, and a Master of Arts in English from the University of Toronto in 1967; and
WHEREAS, In 1972 Douglas Druick received his Master of Philosophy followed by a Ph.D in the History of Art from Yale University; and
WHEREAS, From 1973 to 1984 Douglas Druick served as the Curator of European and American Prints at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa; and
WHEREAS, Douglas Druick began his work at the Art Institute in 1985 as the Chair and Prince Trust Curator of Prints and Drawings; and
WHEREAS, In 1989 Douglas Druick became the Searle Curator of European Painting at the Art Institute; and
WHEREAS, In 2006, while continuing as Chair of the Department of Prints and Drawings, Douglas Druick was appointed Chair of the Department of Medieval to Modern European Painting and Sculpture, overseeing the Art Institute's collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Modern collections; and
WHEREAS, Douglas Druick's experience and dedication helped to bring the museum's Modern Wing to completion in 2009; and
WHEREAS, In his thirty-year career with the Art Institute, Douglas Druick conceived or contributed to many top-tier museum exhibitions, achieving honor and recognition, including Odilon Redon: Prince of Dreams, 1840-1916 (1994); Gustave Caillebotte: Urban Impressionist (1994) with Gloria Groom; Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio ofthe South (2001) with Peter Zegers; Cezanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde (2006) with Gloria Groom; and, in contemporary art, Jasper Johns: Gray (2007) with James Rondeau-named "Best Monographic Museum Show Nationally" by the American section of the International Art Critics Association; and
WHEREAS, Since assuming his duties as President in 2011, Douglas Druick managed the largest art donation in the history of the Art Institute, forty-two contemporary works of painting and sculpture worth $500 million dollars from the collection of Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson; and
WHEREAS, Douglas Druick has published and lectured across Europe and the United States with fifteen exhibition catalogs to his credit; and
WHEREAS, Douglas Druick is the recipient of many honors and awards and has served on various advisory councils and boards, including tenure as the Chairman of the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Advisory Panel and the Boards of the National Endowment for the Arts (2002-2004); and
WHEREAS, Douglas Druick is a Founding Board Member of the Association of Art Museum Curators (2002-2008) and the National Committee for the History of Art (2003-2009); and
WHEREAS, The Government of France named Douglas Druick an "Officier des Arts et Lettres" in 2012;and
WHEREAS, Douglas Druick was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2013; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council assembled this twenty-eighth day of October, 2015, do hereby congratulate Douglas Druick for thirty years of outstanding service and leadership with the Art Institute of Chicago and wish him continued success and happiness as he begins the next phase of his life; and
Alderman, 14tn Ward
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy ofthis resolution be presented to Douglas