Douglas Druick fell in love at a Van Gogh exhibit in the Museum of Fine Arts when he was 12. He was bewitched by the Dutch artist’s colors, his imagery. Druick’s appreciation for the beauty of art followed him as he tried many career paths: medicine, English, law, and business. Yet at the end of the day, art found him once more, and he began to study his passion.
In August of 2011, Douglas Druick was named as the new director for the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the most prestigious museums in the country. Druick was rewarded for over 26 years of work at the Art Institute, and he was in charge of both the department of medieval to modern European paintings and sculpture and the department of prints and drawings.
Douglas Druick’s new title doesn’t come as a surprise to anybody who’s worked with him, referring to Druick as a “curator’s director.” This title means that Druick understands what it means to work with the art, and he doesn’t focus exclusively on the profit line. He is the “perfect steward.”