Williams elected chair of Art Museum board

Constance H. Williams, 65, a former Democratic state legislator and a vice president of the Hess Foundation, was unanimously elected chair of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's board of trustees on Thursday afternoon.

She succeeds H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, 79, the generous and seemingly ubiquitous philanthropist and entrepreneur who has served as chair since 2001.

Lenfest, who will remain on the board, had planned to step down as chair two years ago, but the sudden death of museum director Anne d'Harnoncourt in June 2008, led him to stay while the search for her successor proceeded. Timothy Rub assumed directorial duties last fall following the museum board's search.

"I think the museum is in good shape," Lenfest said in an interview Thursday after Williams' election. "The endowment is climbing back. They have a fantastic staff. There is no division on the board. Nobody is fighting. I'm very excited about Connie."

Williams, who was known in Harrisburg during her 12 years there for her support of issues related to women, children, education and the environment, said she would extend the board's long-term agenda crafted during the Lenfest years.

At the same time, she began to define her own areas for future board action.

"I hope that the museum will become even more accessible so that its permanent collection and its remarkable exhibitions will enable a broader audience to cherish the art," she said in a statement.

Just a year ago, in response to the national economic decline, the museum laid off 30 employees, postponed exhibitions and instituted program cuts.

It also increased admission fees, an action that has a direct impact on accessibility. (General admission is now $16, with children under 12 free, and the first Sunday each month a "pay what you wish" day.)

"Our goal is to sustain an entrance price that makes the museum accessible to all," Williams said in an interview Thursday. "My vision is that art's for everyone, that everybody who wants to will come and see it, and to introduce all the children of the city to what great art does and how it inspires."

While acknowledging that "it's been a very difficult time for the arts," she wants to increase the museum's endowment, which is still below its July 2008 high of $346 million, and attract more memberships, now between 60,000 and 70,000.

"Maybe one day we can go back to pay what you wish" every Sunday, she said.

Williams is also committed to the museum's ambitious $590 million expansion and renovation plans.

"I will also ask my fellow trustees to join with me in working to fulfill the vision embodied in our facilities master plan, to build wider public participation and to strengthen its resources," she said in her statement.

The major expansion involves a Frank Gehry plan to carve out gallery space beneath the current building, which overlooks the Schuylkill.

Williams' familiarity with Harrisburg and political leaders in Washington could well be a plus as the museum moves forward with that plan.

"There are things we must do to remain great," she said. "I have a lot of friends in the legislature, both Democrats and Repulicans, I know the congressional delegation. I think that's an asset I can definitely bring to the job."

Board member David Haas, chairman of the trustees committee, said his panel interviewed senior museum staff and board members extensively before resolving to recommend Williams as chair.

"Connie has a terrific mix of experience both as a legislator and as someone who worked in business earlier in her career," Haas said Thursday.

Williams, who is the daughter of oil magnate Leon Hess, lives in Haverford with her husband, Dr. Sankey V. Williams, Sol Katz professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine. A Barnard College graduate, she has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

She joined the museum board in 2006 and decided not to run for reelection in state senate's 17th District, which stretches from Lower Merion to King of Prussia, in 2008.