WELU, James

WELU, James. (Dubuque, IA-- ). Director, Worcester Art Museum (Worcester, MA). A graduate of LORAS COLLEGE in 1966, Dr. Welu received his MA and MFA from the University of Notre Dame and his Ph.D. from Boston University. He taught at Clark University and at the Worchester Art Museum for several years before joining the museum staff as an assistant curator in 1974. He served as the chief curator from 1980 to 1986 before becoming the Director.

A specialist in 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painting and cartography, Welu has published and lectured widely and organized many exhibitions including Judith Leyster: A Dutch Master and Her World, the first show of the most famous woman artist from Holland’s Golden Age. In 2007 Hope and Healing: Painting in Italy in a Time of Plague, 1500-1800 was the first exhibition in North America to examine the response of the visual arts to the plague.

Welu has served as president of the Association of Art Museum Directors and has chaired the Accreditation Commission of the American Association of Museums. He is also a member of the advisory council for the art museum at Princeton University and the University of Notre Dame. He has lectured widely and written such books as 17th Century Dutch Painting: Raising the Curtain on New England, Judith Leyster: A Dutch Master and Her World, The Collector's Cabinet: Flemish Paintings from New England, and Mask of Mirror.