I.

Calling of the Meeting to Order – Diane B. Wilsey, President

A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco was held on Thursday, December 14, 2006, in the Piazzoni Murals Room, de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.  A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order at 3:55 p.m. by Diane B. Wilsey, President. 

President Wilsey welcomed Trustee Jeanne Roberson, who was attending her first Executive Committee meeting.  President Wilsey presided; Mrs. Gough acted as Secretary.

II.

Calling of the Roll

Present:

Iris S. Chan
Marion Cope, Vice President for Annual Support
Penny Coulter
Marianne H. Peterson
Michael H. Podell
Louise H. Renne
Jeanne Robertson
Lonna Wais
Diane B. Wilsey, President

Excused:

Kermit H. Boston
Robert P. Morrow III
Randolph H. Scott, Vice President for Audience Development and Civic Affairs
Trevor D. Traina

Other Trustees in Attendance:

Cheryl Bancroft
Richard W. Goss II
George Hecksher, Vice President for Collections
J. Burgess Jamieson
J. Alec Merriam
Lorna F. Meyer
Bernard Osher
Steven MacGregor Read
Paul A. Violich, Vice President for Finance

III.

Report of the President – Diane B. Wilsey

A. Consideration and Possible Action to Approve the Minutes of the October 12, 2006 Meeting of the Board of Trustees

There being no discussion among the Trustees or members of the public, the minutes of the October 12, 2006 meeting of the Board of Trustees, having been mailed in advance to all Trustees, were unanimously approved.

B. Consideration and Possible Action to Approve the Report of the November 15, 2006 Meeting of the Acquisitions Committee of the Fine Arts Museums Foundation - George Hecksher, Vice President for Collections, and Chair of the Acquisitions Committee of the Fine Arts Museums Foundation

1. Gifts Offered to the Museums

Chair Hecksher, Vice President for Collections and Chair of the Acquisitions Committee of the Fine Arts Museums Foundation, reported that there were no major purchases for consideration at the November 15^th meeting.  A number of gifts, however, were recommended by the Acquisitions Committee for approval, as listed on pages 1 through 12 of Appendix I of these minutes.  Chair Hecksher highlighted the following gifts:

a. American Art – A gift from a recently deceased Trustee of three Ruth Asawa wire sculptures, a painting by Wayne Thiebaud, entitled Coastal Farms, 1997, and Ochre, 1983, a color woodcut on paper by Richard Diebenkorn;

b. Prints and Drawings – A gift of five works on paper by Howard Finster, which are on currently on view as part of the Howard Finster: Image + Works = God exhibition in the Logan Gallery at the Legion of Honor; a gift of 26 works on paper by Edward Ruscha for the Edward Ruscha Graphic Arts Archive held by the Fine Arts Museums; a gift of 4 additional works on paper by Edward Ruscha for inclusion in the Crown Point Press Archive, also held by the Fine Arts Museums; and a gift of It was to be quite a challenge…, by Glen Baxter, a large work on paper presently on view on the lower level of the de Young Museum;

c. Textiles – A gift of couture consisting of 26 objects, including works by Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.

2. First Step Deaccessioning

One American painting, Night Scene of House in Desert, ca. 1910, by Charles Rollo Peters, and 144 duplicate works on paper were recommended by the Acquisitions Committee for first step deaccessioning, as listed on page 13 of Appendix I of these minutes.

3. Second Step Deaccessioning

Sixteen American artworks and 121 textiles were recommended by the Acquisitions Committee for second step deaccessioning, as listed on page 14 of Appendix I of these minutes.  As required by Board policy, the Acquisitions Committee viewed these artworks at the November 15^th meeting.

4. Purchases Reported for the Record

These works are listed on pages 16 and 17 of Appendix I of these minutes.

Chair Hecksher presented the following resolution:

RESOLVED, That the Board of Trustees of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco does hereby approve the appended November 15, 2006 report of the Acquisitions Committee of the Fine Arts Museums Foundation, including approving the works of art acquired through purchase and donation as gifts to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from the Fine Arts Museums Foundation; and approving first and second step deaccessioning.

On motion, duly seconded, there was no discussion among Trustees.  There was no public testimony.  The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adopt the above resolution as Board Resolution 1612.

C. Consideration and Possible Action to Approve a Resolution Authorizing the Director to Accept Year End Gifts of Art

The following resolution, recommended for adoption by the Acquisitions Committee of the Fine Arts Museums Foundation at its November 15^th meeting, was presented by Chair Hecksher:

RESOLVED, That the Boards of Trustees of the Fine Arts Museums Foundation and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, upon the recommendation of the Chair of the Acquisitions Committee, does hereby authorize the Director (or his designee) to accept gifts of art offered to the Fine Arts Museums Foundation and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from November 15, 2006 (last Acquisitions Committee meeting) through December 31, 2006, if in his (or his designee’s) judgment, he deems it acceptable; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Director shall report to the Boards of Trustees of the Fine Arts Museums Foundation and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco at their next meetings, the gifts of art accepted during this period.

On motion, duly seconded, there was no discussion among Trustees.  There was no public testimony.  The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adopt the above resolution as Board Resolution 1613.

 IV.

Report of the Director of Museums – John E. Buchanan, Jr.

A. Consideration and Possible Action to Approve Loan Requests

Mr. Buchanan presented the following loan requests:

1. From:Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA

For:The Clark Brothers Collect Renior to Matisse, Homer to Hopper
Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY:  5/21/07 – 8/19/07 (change in dates)

Thomas Pollock Anshutz (American, 1851 – 1912)
The Ironworkers’ Noontime, 1880
Oil on canvas, 17 x 23 7/8 (43.2 x 60.6 cm)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3^rd
1979.7.4

Stipulations:The painting will be accompanied by a FAMSF courier to and from New York City to San Francisco.  All related expenses will be paid by the requesting organization.

*****

2. From:Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

For:Jan van Huysum (1682-1749).  The Phoenix of Flower Painters
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: 2/18/07 – 6/13/07

Willem van Aelst (Dutch, 1625 – 1683)
Flowers in a Silver Vase, 1663
Oil on canvas, 26 5/8 x 21 ½ (67.6 x 54.6 cm)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Dr. and Mrs.
Hermann Schuelein
51.21

Stipulations:The painting will be accompanied by a FAMSF courier to Houston and return to San Francisco.  All related expenses will be paid by the requesting organization.

*****

3. From:Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany

For:Women Impressionists
Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany:  2/22/08 – 6/1/08

Mary Cassatt (American, 1844 – 1926)
Mrs. Robert S. Cassatt, the Artist’s Mother, ca. 1889
Oil on canvas, 96.5 x 68.6 cm (38 x 27 in.);
Frame:  112.4 x 86 x 6 cm (44 ¼ x 33 7/8 x 2 3/8 in.)
1979.35
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Museum purchase,
William H. Noble Bequest Fund

Stipulations:The painting will be accompanied by a FAMSF courier to Frankfurt and return to San Francisco.  All related expenses will be paid by the requesting organization.

*****

4. From:The National Gallery, London, England

For:Masterpieces of Seventeenth-Century Dutch Portrait Painting
The National Gallery, London, England: 6/27/07-9/16/07
Royal Picture Gallery, Mauritshuis, The Hague:  10/13/07-1/13/08

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669)
Joris de Caulerii, 1632
Oil on canvas transferred to panel
102.9 x 84.3 cm (40 ½ x 33 3/16 in.)
Frame:  139.1 x 120 x 12.7 cm (54 ¾ x 47 ¼ x 5 in.)
66.31
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Collection

Stipulations:The painting will be accompanied by a FAMSF courier to London, supervised shipment between venues, and FAMSF courier back from The Hague to San Francisco.  All related expenses will be paid by the requesting organization.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the four loan requests noted above.  There was no discussion among Trustees.  There was no public testimony.  The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the loans subject to the conditions stated.

D. Other Informational Item

1. Presentation of the Annual Report on FAMSF Performance Measures  to the Budget and Finance Committee of the Board of Supervisors

On December 13^th, Director Buchanan presented the annual report on FAMSF performance measures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006 to the Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Finance Committee.  Nicholas T. Elsishans, Chief Financial Officer; Debbie Albuquerque, Deputy Director for Operations and Human Resources; and Gary Landis, Senior Grants Officer; assisted with the preparation of this report.  The following points were made in the report / presentation:

One of the Museums’ measures of performance is attendance, which during fiscal year 2005-06 was projected at 400,000 visitors for the Legion of Honor and fell short at about 293,000 visitors.  In large part, this was due to the fact that all efforts in the fall of 2005 focused on opening the new de Young Museum.  The number of visitors to the new de Young Museum during fiscal year 2005-06 (9 months actual as the de Young opened on October 15, 2005) was projected at 610,000.   In fact, 1.226 million individuals visited the de Young, which included visitors to the galleries and special events.  Sixty percent of these visitors entered free-of-charge into 40% of the de Young’s free space (Education Tower, Wilsey Court, Piazzoni Murals Room, Café, and the Store).  Mr. Buchanan extended appreciation to Trustee Iris Chan and Wells Fargo Bank for underwriting a free community day to celebrate the success of the first year of the new de Young Museum, which was held on Saturday, October 14^th and attracted 11,770 visitors between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Benchmarking fiscal year 2005-06 attendance against national norms, FAMSF was the fourth most visited museum in the nation last year behind The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery, and The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Mr. Buchanan reported that 250,000 persons of all ages participated in the Museums’ education programs, including almost 60,000 school children, who were admitted free of charge.  Exhibitions during fiscal year 2005-06 were also reviewed, including Haptshepsut:  From Queen to Pharoah, the de Young’s inaugural exhibition, International Arts and Crafts:  William Morris to Frank Lloyd Wright, Chicano Visions, and The Quilts of Gee’s Bend.  In addition, it was reported that memberships were targeted at 65,000 households, and in fact, totaled 75,000 at 2005-06 fiscal year end and currently numbers 81,000 member households.  Again, benchmarked nationally, FAMSF has achieved the fourth highest museum membership in the United States, just behind The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and The Art Institute in Chicago.

The enhancement of the City art collection was also reviewed with the Budget and Finance Committee.  During fiscal year 2005-06, FAMSF projected that 1,000 works of art would enter the permanent collection; this target was surpassed with approximately 1,300 works of art donated to the Museums totaling about $18,300,000.  And, it was pointed out that the most significant work of art gifted to the City was the $202 million de Young Museum building itself.

Mr. Buchanan concluded his remarks with congratulations to the Board of Trustees for its vision in creating the new de Young Museum, which continues to receive national and international acclaim and interest.
 

V.

VI.

Meeting Schedule, Future Events and Current and Future Exhibits

A. 2007 Board of Trustees Meetings

B. 2007 Executive Committee Meetings

C .Future Events

D. Current and Future Exhibitions (*Exhibitions organized by FAMSF)

1. Legion of Honor - Major Special Exhibitions

2. de Young Museum -  Major Special Exhibitions

 VII.

Adjournment – Diane B. Wilsey, President

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,



Judy Gough
Executive Secretary




These minutes set forth all actions taken up by the Executive Committee on matters stated, but not necessarily in the order in which the matters were considered.


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