John Ravenal

John Ravenal

John B. Ravenal is Executive Director of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. He was previously the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, a position he has held since 1998. Before that, he was the Associate Curator of 20th-Century Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Recent exhibitions include Ryan McGinness: Studio Visit (2014); Xu Bing: Tobacco Project(2011), and Sally Mann: The Flesh and The Spirit (2010). He is currently organizing Jasper Johns/Edvard Munch(2016; produced in partnership with the Munch Museum, Oslo), the first exhibition to explore the connection between these two artists. Ravenal earned his BA in art history from Wesleyan University and his MA and MPhil in art history from Columbia University. He served as the fourth president of the Association of Art Museum Curators (2009-11).

I valued the intense learning experience with my curatorial colleagues and the knowledge gained from meetings with Columbia professors, museum directors, and cultural leaders.

Articles Related to John Ravenal

2012 Fellowship_Class Portrait

2011-10-21

CCL Announces Class of 2012

The Center for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) is pleased to announce its 2012 class of fellows. The incoming fellows represent a cross section of the most respected curators across North America.  Co-founded by Elizabeth Easton and Agnes Gund, the CCL is dedicated to expanding the leadership capacity of curators to meet the challenges of ... Read More >

Core Advancement

2014-11-17

John Ravenal (CCL class of 2012) New Director of deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum taps John Ravenal, CCL class of 2012, to be its new Director. John B. Ravenal, currently the curator for modern and contemporary art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, will take the helm as new executive director in mid-January. Of his new post, Ravenal ... Read More >