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• Issue #283
• Article

Germaine Clair and Brooks Johnson.

The Chrysler Museum of Art has announced a transformative $2 million gift from longtime Museum supporter and former curator Brooks Johnson to establish an endowed Curator of Photography position. The newly created Germaine Clair and Brooks Johnson Curator of Photography will ensure the continued growth, care, and visibility of the Museum's photography collection.

The endowment honors Johnson's late wife, Germaine Clair, an active member of Hampton Roads' creative community known for her warmth, generosity, elegance, and spirited advocacy for the arts. A highly accomplished graphic designer, Clair produced numerous books and exhibition catalogues for the Chrysler Museum of Art, as well as W. W. Norton & Company, Bulfinch Press, Aperture, and Takarajima Books. She taught design as adjunct faculty at Tidewater Community College, and was the Art Director for the Jewish News, for the Jewish Federation of Tidewater, for 18 years. Clair's legacy lives on through her lasting impact on the region's cultural landscape and the many institutions she supported.

Johnson began his career at the Chrysler Museum in 1977 as the Museum Photographer, and in 1980 became the first Curator of Photography, before departing in 2008 to begin a second career at Harmony Investments, Inc., in Virginia Beach. During his 31-year tenure, Johnson brought more than 4,500 objects, spanning the history of photography, into the collection, while organizing more than 100 exhibitions and over two dozen publications. In June 2019, he was awarded the title of Founding Curator of Photography by the Chrysler Museum.

"We are deeply appreciative of Brooks and Germaine, and the impact they've had on our community," said Erik H. Neil, Macon and Joan Brock Director of the Chrysler Museum of Art. "This remarkable gift allows us to build on decades of success and reinforces our commitment to photography as a vital artistic and educational medium."

The Chrysler Museum of Art has established a world-class photography collection of more than five thousand works. One of the fastest-growing areas of the Museum's collection, it includes iconic works by recognized masters alongside innovative pieces that reflect the medium's diversity and breadth. The Museum maintains a dynamic roster of photography exhibitions, drawing both on the strength of the collection, as well as strategic loans, to highlight the medium's pivotal place within visual culture and its ever-evolving technical and conceptual potential.

"Germaine and I conceived the Chrysler Museum's photography program as an integrated program of collections, exhibitions, and publications, and with generous support from donors, that vision became an enduring reality," said Johnson. "Germaine's encouragement and deep belief in photography shaped the program in countless ways, and this endowment carries our shared vision forward by ensuring the program continues to grow and serve the Museum and its community for generations to come. There could be no more meaningful way to honor Germaine, the life we shared, and the love, partnership, and inspiration she brought to my life."

The Germaine Clair and Brooks Johnson Curator of Photography will ensure a comprehensive, forward-looking approach to the medium, strengthening the Museum's ability to collect, interpret, and present photography in ways that inspire discovery, dialogue, and creativity.