Paul Johnson Appointed Deputy Director for Development at the Brooklyn Museum

Thursday, March 11, 2010. Longtime fundraising professional Paul Johnson has been appointed Deputy Director for Development at the Brooklyn Museum following an intensive search. MR. Johnson will assume his new position, which will report to Museum Director Arnold L. Lehman, in mid-April.

Dr. Lehman, who personally conducted the search, states, "We are delighted to welcome Paul Johnson to the Brooklyn Museum, especially at this challenging time for the not-for-profit cultural community. Paul's breadth of experience on behalf of art museums, particularly in the areas of corporate and individual giving, as well as membership development, will increase and strengthen Brooklyn's fundraising capacity in all areas, while at the same time nurturing an effectively functioning department."

Norman M. Feinberg, Chair of the Museum's Board of Trustees, comments, "Paul brings 15 years of ever-increasing responsibility and success in development work to the Brooklyn Museum. I know he is looking forward to working closely with our Trustees and the Museum's many generous friends to broaden opportunities in support of the exceptional educational and exhibition programs for which the Museum is nationally and internationally known."

Paul Johnson headed up the development and membership program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where he was instrumental in the success of many major initiatives, including the campaign to build the new Visitor and Education Center at Bayou Bend; the establishment of the Department of Arts of the Islamic World; the support for dozens of exhibitions, among them The Masterpieces of French Painting from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800-1920, the most successful exhibition in the history of the Houston Museum; multimillion-dollar funding of the International Center for the Arts of the Americas; double-digit growth of the Museum's membership and annual giving programs; and the establishment of the Museum's first planned giving society. Following his tenure in Houston, Johnson was Senior Vice President for Business Development and Director of Sotheby's Los Angeles. He has also served as Deputy Director for External Affairs at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and Director of Development at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Most recently, Johnson has worked with the Getty Foundation and Research Institute as a consultant on fundraising for the enormously complex 2011 project Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, an unprecedented collaboration of more than 40 visual and performing arts institutions throughout Southern California.

Earlier in his career, Paul Johnson held positions in the development offices of the New York University School of Medicine and Columbia University, where he developed a strong knowledge of fundraising in New York City. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Johnson holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a Master of Music degree in Choral Music from the University of Southern California.

Johnson says of his new appointment, "I am thrilled to be a part of the exciting direction being taken by the Brooklyn Museum and to have the opportunity to assist with projects related to its superb Permanent Collections, its exciting exhibition program, as well as its acclaimed public and educational programs."

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