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Carter Executive Director to Leave After 14 Years
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art announced on August 25, 2025, that Dr. Andrew J. Walker will be stepping down as Executive Director of the Museum following 14 years of leadership.
Under his tenure, the Carter’s collections and endowment have expanded significantly, and the Museum’s internal galleries have been renovated and reimagined to improve visitor experience and to emphasize a thematic presentation that connects artists and works through time. He also expanded the Carter’s exhibition program to include site-specific installations by living American artists, and enhanced access to the Carter’s collection onsite and online, all of which have resulted in significant growth in community engagement and impact.
Photo courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Walker’s last day at the Museum will be August 31, 2025. Scott Wilcox, the Museum’s Chief Operating Officer, has been named interim Executive Director. The Board will be launching a search for the Carter’s next Executive Director in the coming weeks.
“I have been honored to lead the Carter for the past fourteen years and watch it evolve into the impactful institution it is today,” said Andrew J. Walker. “I am exceptionally proud of all that we have accomplished, whether through our commitment to new scholarship on American art, our exceptional exhibition program, or our continued expansion of the Carter’s collection to include new voices and seminal works that tell the story of American creativity. A particular highlight for me has been our expanded engagement with the communities we serve, and the relationships we have built with our partners and supporters,” said Walker. “Given all that we have accomplished together, it feels like the right moment for me to depart and allow a new leader to take the helm as the Carter plans for its future.”
During Walker’s tenure, the Carter has continued to acquire important works of art by acclaimed American artists, with noted acquisitions of artwork by Ruth Asawa, George Bellows, Dawoud Bey, Mary Cassatt, Gabriel Dawe, Richard Hunt, Norman Lewis, Glenn Ligon, and John Singer Sargent, among many others. Walker also spearheaded the Museum’s collecting initiative dedicated to amplifying Indigenous artists’ contributions to American visual identity through the history of photography, which saw the addition of artwork by more than ten Indigenous photographers including Tom Jones, Shelley Niro, Cara Romero, Sarah Sense, and Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie.
“Andrew Walker became director of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art before my mother Ruth Carter Stevenson passed away,” said Karen Hixon, President of the Board of Trustees. “Andrew came to understand her passion and vision and continued to ably lead the Museum through the transition years and beyond. We are grateful for all he has done to set the Carter on such a strong path for its future. I so appreciate his leadership, good counsel, and friendship over the last many years and wish him well in in this the next chapter of his life.”
Photo courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art
In 2019, Walker stewarded the Carter through a major renovation that expanded and updated exhibition spaces to create wider galleries and better sightlines, while dedicating 7,000 square feet for special exhibitions. During this time, the Carter also unveiled a new website, dramatically increasing public access to the collection and the wealth of stories about American art that it possesses. The renovation also included an expansion of the Carter’s photography vaults with the latest advancements in climate control cold storage, allowing for the future growth of the collection and the continued preservation of the Museum’s holdings. Established at the same time thanks to generous gifts, the Gentling Study Center provides resources and support for ongoing scholarship on Scott and Stuart Gentling as well as other under-researched American artists.
Since Walker joined the Museum in 2011, the Carter expanded its exhibition program to include site-specific installations by living American artists, presentations of work by underrepresented artists, and organized major exhibitions that have toured the nation. Highlights include American Epics: Thomas Hart Benton and Hollywood (2015); Color: American Photography Transformed (2013); Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation (2023); Leonardo Drew: Number 235T (2023); Mythmakers: The Art of Winslow Homer and Frederic Remington (2020); The Perilous Texas Adventures of Mark Dion (2020); Navigating the West (2015): George Caleb Bingham and the River (2014); Speaking with Light: Contemporary Indigenous Photography (2022); Stephanie Syjuco: Double Vision (2022); Wild Spaces, Open Seasons: Hunting and Fishing in American Art (2017); and The World Outside: Louise Nevelson at Midcentury (2023).
As Executive Director, Walker was an active champion of the Museum’s community engagement and outreach initiatives, impacting the audiences the Carter serves both at the Museum and across North Texas. In 2018, Walker supported the launch of the Museum’s Carter Community Artists initiative dedicated to supporting and working with local artists, providing the public with access to collaborate and learn from artists working in the community. The Museum has also established a robust network of community partners to enhance engagement with visitors at the Carter and beyond the Museum walls.
