Roglán named Museum director (Photo by Kelsey Jukam, The Daily Campus)

The nationwide search for a director of the Meadows Museum has come to a close as Dr. Mark A. Roglán has been named director as of Jan. 1.à

Roglán is a native of Madrid and a specialist in Spanish art. Thus, Meadows Museum is a perfect locale for Roglán, asàit is home to a vast array of rare Spanish collections, according to the search committee.

Roglán serves as adjunct associate professor in the art history division at SMU’s Meadows School of Art, and he also served as an interim director at the museum, as interim curator and as senior curator.

At the Meadows Museum, Roglán has initiated and curated a number of distinguished exhibitions. One of the most highly regarded exhibits includes the major international loan exhibition “Prelude to Spanish Modernism: Fortuny to Picasso,” which can currently be viewed until Feb. 26, 2006.

Another exhibit Roglán is responsible for is the first major exhibition of Spanish tapestries in America. This exhibit, which was shown this past fall, was paralleled with the 400th anniversary of the publication “Don Quixote.”

The exhibit was appropriately titled “Weaving the Legend of Don Quijote: 18th Century Tapestries for the Royal Court of Spain.” This rare exhibit made its first and only American debut at the Meadows Museum, generating record-breaking crowds and the highest attendance of any exhibition at the museum.

Roglán also obtained a long-term loan of 10 significantly rare medieval and early-Renaissance Spanish paintings and sculptures from the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which are currently on display at the museum. Carole Brandt, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, has nothing but praise for Roglán and his new position as director.

“His scholarship, creativity, energy and commitment have raised the museum’s profile and brought recognition and respect from both the public and the international art community,” she said. “His collaboration with museums worldwide is enabling our institution to present some very exciting exhibitions that other museums can only dream about.”

Roglán is optimistic and confident about the future of the museum.

“The Meadows Museum has embarked on an exciting period of growth and momentum,” he said. “I am honored to be named the director of this remarkable institution, and I look forward to helping the museum achieve its fullest potential and increasing the recognition and appreciation of its incredible assets.” ààààààààààà