Muriel Christison

Muriel Christison was a pioneer in the field of museum administration and education. While she was the associate director for collections and education at the very prestigious Virginia Museum of Fine Arts from 1948 to 1961, she instigated programs to take art education on the road to rural schools and diverse constituencies. In the 1950s, this education innovation was unprecedented. Christison was recognized nationally for her pioneering work as a museum educator, and similarly impactful with well known collectors including the Mellons and Rockefellers. She was instrumental in securing the internationally recognized Degas sculptures collection for Virginia from Paul and Bunny Mellon.

She brought these same skills to the Krannert Art Museum as associate director in 1962, working very closely to extend the impact of Allen Weller, until she later became museum director, serving until 1982. Under her directorship, collectors Harlan E. and Theresa E. Moore (namesakes of the Moore Gallery) made their initial donation of 300 objects composed of primarily 18th- and 19th-century European and American ceramics and glass. In 1964, Christison founded Friends of KAM, a volunteer organization to support the museum’s educational programs, events, and outreach. Now called KAM Council, the organization continues to thrive today. Past council president Miriam Iben stated, “Christison’s founding of the council realized the need for an active volunteer support group and opened the museum and its vast collection to the public in a way paid staff could not.”

Muriel Christison’s career in art history and museum management also took her to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the University of Minnesota Art Institute, the Arkansas Arts Center Artmobile, and the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary.