After nineteen years as Director of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Kevin Sharp has announced plans to retire. Sharp will continue leading the museum and gardens through the summer of 2027, or until his successor is found, ensuring a thoughtful transition in Dixon leadership.
Since joining the Dixon as its sixth director in 2007,
Kevin has guided the institution through some of the most significant periods of growth in its fifty-year history and has been the longest-serving director. In 2011, the Dixon endowed the directorship in honor and memory of Linda W. and S. Herbert Rhea, whose generosity and leadership meant so much to the Dixon throughout much of its history.
During his tenure, Kevin strengthened every aspect of the museum's mission, from expanding its permanent collection and organizing internationally recognized exhibitions to increasing scholarly publications, improving the gardens, and deepening community engagement. Under his leadership, the Dixon acquired more than 600 works of fine and decorative art, significantly enriching one of the Mid-South's premier collections of French and American Impressionism.
"Kevin's commitment to excellence strengthened every part of the Dixon and positioned the museum for continued success. We are deeply grateful for his service and look forward to celebrating his remarkable legacy."
-Amanda Goetze, Chair of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens Board of Trustees
Upon Kevin’s arrival at the Dixon, he worked to help transform the institution from a respected regional museum into an energetic and highly productive institution with a strong focus on community service. During his tenure, the Dixon has never operated without a strategic plan and has twice been reaccredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). The institution has expanded the scope and reach of its education, outreach, and gardens programming while doubling its membership revenue, visitation, operating budget, and the value of its endowments. The Dixon has also eliminated admission fees, making it one of the most accessible cultural institutions in the region.
Sharp arrived at the Dixon after serving as Research Curator at the Art Institute of Chicago (1988–1998); Curator of American Art at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida (1998–2003); and Director of Visual Arts at Cedarhurst in Mt. Vernon, Illinois (2003–2007).
Expanding the Dixon's National and International Profile
Kevin Sharp was instrumental in elevating the Dixon's national and international profile. Since 2009, the museum has organized sixty-seven major exhibitions, thirty-one of which have been accompanied by book-length publications. Twenty Dixon-originated exhibitions have traveled to sixty-three museum venues across the United States and abroad, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Petit Palais in Paris, the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, and Ordrupgaard in Denmark.
The museum also presented seven outdoor sculpture exhibitions and more than eighty exhibitions in the Mallory/Wurtzburger Galleries, a space dedicated to contemporary local and regional artists.
Building the Collection
Kevin placed renewed emphasis on growing the Dixon's outstanding permanent collection of fine and decorative arts. More than 600 works entered the Dixon collection during his tenure, including Jacques-Émile Blanche's Portrait of Eugenia Huici Arguedas de Errazuriz, purchased in memory of John Buchanan; the Charlotte Stout Hooker Collection of English and Continental Ceramics; the landmark 2017 gift of twenty-nine American paintings from Susan and John Horseman; and works by Gustave Courbet, Charles Ethan Porter, Maurice Prendergast, Augusta Savage, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Alma Thomas, and many others.
The creation of Curator's Circle in 2016 introduced a new model for collecting at the Dixon, inviting donors to participate directly in acquisitions. Over the past decade, Curator's Circle has helped acquire works by Charles Courtney Curran, Fernand Léger, Jane Peterson, Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones, and many others, adding depth and diversity to the collection.
Expanding Education and Community Engagement
In 2019, the Dixon completed the Liz and Tommy Farnsworth Education Building, a 6,000-square-foot addition that provided the institution's first dedicated space for its education programs. The Farnsworths' generous gift was the largest since Margaret and Hugo Dixon's original bequest, and the building represented the museum's first expansion since 1985. The project also created more than an acre of new learning gardens.
Sharp successfully guided the Dixon through periods of financial uncertainty, including the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, other economic downturns, and the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of the pandemic, the Dixon retained all of its staff.
"It has been a privilege to lead the Dixon for almost 20 years, but it’s time for a new generation of museum leadership. I cannot imagine having served a finer institution than the Dixon and a greater and more supportive community than Memphis.”
-Kevin Sharp
Throughout his tenure, Sharp has been supported by his wife, Erin Riordan, whose generosity, volunteer service, and commitment to Memphis made her an important part of the Dixon family.
The Dixon's Board of Trustees will launch a national search for the museum's next director in the coming months. Sharp will remain in his role through the summer of 2027 or until his successor is found.