In a week of departures and leadership changes at Orlando Museum of Art, another exit was announced by the institution Friday morning: Cynthia Brumback has departed as chair of the board — two months after her term was supposed to have ended.
Mark Elliott, co-leader of the task force formed by the museum following the FBI’s shutdown of an exhibit of purported works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, was elected to replace Brumback as chair.
“We have our work cut out for us,” the statement quoted Elliott as saying. “I look forward to working straightaway on taking steps with our Board to guide the museum towards fulfilling its highest and best purpose, expanding our permanent collection, focusing on good governance and the Museum’s practices and procedures.”
Elliott is a lawyer with KPMG International in Orlando.
The leadership change comes just two days after multiple trustees were informed they had exceeded term limits set by the museum’s bylaws and dismissed from the board. That same day, interim director Luder Whitlock resigned without giving a reason.
Whitlock, who in 2020 stepped in for the museum after the contentious departure of former director Glen Gentele, had returned in July after director Aaron De Groft was terminated in light of the Basquiat scandal. He had been meeting with public officials to discuss the museum’s plans to move on from the incident, which saw the FBI raid the museum and seize the disputed Basquiat art in June.
It was later discovered that the FBI had subpoenaed the museum months before the exhibit opened, but Brumback stated the board was swayed by De Groft into going ahead with the exhibit, titled “Heroes and Monsters.”
“Our then-director repeatedly assured us — through the presentation of documentary evidence — that highly qualified art experts had vetted the authenticity of the pieces in the ‘Heroes and Monsters’ exhibition,” she wrote in a column published in the Orlando Sentinel. Based on authentication reports, she said, “our director reassured us that everything was in order.”
According to several people with firsthand knowledge of the situation, Brumback’s two-year term as board chair ended in June when the museum’s fiscal year also concluded, but no election was held to replace her. One source, who was granted anonymity to protect his relationship with the museum, suggested no one could be found to take the job.
Messages to Elliott and museum spokespeople that asked about Brumback’s term and Friday’s board meeting and election were not answered.
The statement said Brumback will collaborate with Elliott through a transition period, although his term starts immediately, and continue to support the museum through fundraising.
“I am looking forward to our Centennial in 2024,” she said in the statement. “Regardless of the events in our recent history, we have deep roots in the community and much to be proud of.”
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