The Frick Collection in New York has named Joseph Shatoff as its new Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer. Shatoff, who will assume his new role on December 6, joins the Frick from Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he has worked since 2011 as senior manager for planning and special projects.
At the Met, Shatoff managed the launch of the Met Breuer on Madison Avenue, and oversaw the restoration of the landmark building. In his new position at the Frick, Shatoff will manage and coordinate the institution’s expansion, among other responsibilities. Shatoff will succeed Robert Goldsmith, who retired earlier this year after 27 years.
Frick Director Ian Wardropper said in a statement, “Joe brings with him a holistic perspective on how to enhance and harmonize institutional and programmatic needs with architectural and operational solutions. His expertise and experience will be a tremendous asset to the Frick as we embark on a major upgrade and expansion of the institution’s facilities in collaboration with Selldorf Architects.”
Original plans for the Frick’s expansion—which included a six-story addition and eliminating the institution’s gated garden—have been met with protests from artists, New Yorkers, and even former employees. The museum finally yielded to protesters and abandoned the controversial design in summer 2015, launching a new call for proposals.
This past October, the museum announced that Selldorf Architects have been charged with the task of ameliorating the circulation in the Frick’s galleries while maintaining the intimate character of the Gilded Age mansion.
Selldorf Architects, who have also renovated New York’s Neue Galerie and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, among numerous other art institutions, have not yet presented their design, but were selected for their approach that “enrich[es] rather than overwhelm[s].”