Julia Alexander, who led the Walters Art Museum as its first woman executive director and CEO for over a decade, died Sunday night. She was 57.
Alexander died from a heart attack at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, according to the Baltimore museum. She was named director in 2013, the fifth person to hold the position in the museum’s history.
She served at the Walters for 11 years before leaving in 2024 to become president of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York. The foundation supports the study of European art, architecture, and archaeology.
During her time at the Walters, Julia Alexander focused on increasing community engagement and connection with Baltimore and Maryland. Her leadership included guiding the museum through the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing its history regarding systemic racism.Kate Burgin, who succeeded Alexander as the museum's CEO and executive director, described Alexander as a mentor and friend."We are deeply saddened by the passing of Julia Alexander, whose influence on this organization, and on all of us, is both lasting and significant," Burgin said. "One of her most important contributions to the Walters was shifting the museum’s focus toward creating greater and more meaningful engagement with our local community."
Peter Bain, president of the Walters’ board of trustees, said Alexander led with courage and integrity."For many of us, Julia was more than a colleague — she was a friend," Bain said. "She shared her deep love of art generously, along with a steadfast belief in its transformative power to bring people together. She will be dearly missed."
Alexander was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1967 and grew up in Claremont, California. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1989 and earned master's degrees from New York University and Yale University, where she also completed a doctorate in art history in 1999.Before the Walters, she worked at the Yale Center for British Art and the San Diego Museum of Art. Alexander is survived by her children, Jack and Beatrice, her mother Catharine Alexander, her former husband Dr. John Marciari, and her sister, Kitty Alexander.