LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has named Franklin Sirmans department head and chief curator of contemporary art, the Los Angeles Times reports, succeeding Lynn Zelevansky. He will begin in January. Sirmans comes to LACMA from the Menil Collection in Houston. Beyond his curatorial expertise, Sirman has worked as an editor at Flash Art and Art AsiaPacific magazines; he will also contribute to LACMA’s publications.

HOUSTON—Linda Shearer has been named executive director of Project Row Houses in Houston, Artnet reports. The nonprofit, which was started by artist Rick Lowe, offers an artist residency, among other things, and often hosts art installations. Shearer has previously worked as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art, and as interim director at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston.

NEW YORK—Lucy Mitchell-Innes has been named president of the Art Dealers Association of America, Lindsay Pollock reports on her blog. The New York dealer, who is co-director of the Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery and formerly the head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, will be the organization’s first female president. She succeeds Roland Augustine, whose three-year term has come to a close.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Obama has appointed three officials to his Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Margo Lion, whose experience in theater ranges from running a non-profit to producing for the stage, will serve as co-chairman with George Stevens Jr., a writer, director, and producer of movies and TV. Working alongside Lion and Stevens as vice chairman is Mary Schmidt Campbell. She is currently the dean of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

NEW YORK—The American Federation of Arts has announced that Maura Reilly will join its staff in the role of senior curator, ArtDaily reports. Most recently, Reilly held the same role at nonprofit Location 1; before that, she worked as a curator at the Brooklyn Museum. She is also an experienced scholar and writer who's taught at Tufts University and authored articles for Art in America.

SAN FRANCISCO—Jeannene Przyblyski has been named dean of academic affairs at the San Francisco Art Institute, the San Francisco Examiner reports; she will replace Okwui Enwezor, who is leaving to pursue more curatorial and writing projects. Until July, Przyblyski served as arts commissioner to the city. At the same time, she will also act as executive director of the San Francisco Bureau of Urban Secrets, a think tank that melds arts and urbanism, and work as an artist and consultant for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. 

NEW YORK—Eugene Lang College at the New School for Liberal Arts has named Eve Mosherits fall 2009 visiting artist for the school’s visual arts program.Mosher is best known for her interactive works that place emphasis onthe environment and the public and has been a recipient of grants fromthe New York State Council on the Arts and New York Department ofCultural Affairs. Past visiting artists at Lang College include Alyce Santoro, Ralph Lemon, Martha Rosler and Marni Nixon.

SANTA FE, N.M—The New Mexico Museum of Art has named Mary Kershaw its new director, Newsday reports. Kershaw will replace Marsha Bol, who exited to run another New Mexico museum earlier in the year. Currently, Kershaw serves as director of collections for England’s York Museums Trust, which includes the York Art Gallery. She will begin her tenure at the New Mexico Museum in January.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa—Todd Behrens will leave his job as curator of the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, Fla., this week to assume the same position at the Sioux City Art Center, the Lakeland Ledger reports. Behrens, who holds degrees in art history from the College of William and Mary and the University of Florida, has been with the Polk since 1999; he previously worked at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood.

Farewells
NEW YORK—Poet Jim Carroll died Sept. 11 as a result of a heart attack, the New York Times reports. He was 60. From a very young age, Carroll was an acclaimed writer, publishing such works as The Basketball Diaries, which chronicled his high school years and was later turned into a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He was also a fixture in the downtown poetry scene in New York, working among such writers as Allen Ginsberg and Frank O’Hara. After rock performer Patti Smith invited him onstage to perform his poetry to music, he began recording albums with his Jim Carroll Bandin the early 1980s. Carroll’s last book of poetry was released in 1998,and he also recorded a number of spoken-word albums later in life.

PARIS—Photographer Willy Ronis died Sept. 12 at the age of 99, the Guardian reports. Though he began his career as a photojournalist chronicling the lives of the destitute, he is most well known for his photos of beautiful women, many of which appeared in the pages of Vogue. He won a number of prizes and honors, including the Prix Nadar in 1981, and in 2007 was honored for lifetime achievement at the Lucie Awards.

AVIEMORE, Scotland—Sculptor Frank Brucehas died at age 78, the Scottish Press & Journal reports. Known forhis love of the outdoors and his sculptures made of natural materials,Bruce never sold an artwork, insisting that viewing it should be free for all.He was the creator of the Colleonard Sculpture Garden, and mostfamously, of the Feshiebridge Sculpture Garden.

BOSTON—Photographer Peter Urbandied on Sept. 13 after a lengthy battle with cancer, New England’s BayWindows reports. He was 61. A well-known Boston photographer, Urban published work in such outlets as the New York Times, the BostonGlobe Magazine, New York Magazine, and the Improper Bostonian. He was a recipient of the New Approach Award from Fuji Films in 2001 and of theDirector’s Award from the International Exhibition at the Center forFine Art Photography, in Fort Collins, Colo., in 2007. Urban, who held degrees from Boston University and the NewEngland School of Photography, spent much ofhis life in Boston.

CAMBRIDGE, England—Professor and forensic pathologist Austin Gresham died on July 24 at age 84, the Telegraph reports. Gresham received his claim to fame in the art world in the ‘80s, when his 1975 textbook A Colour Atlas of Forensic Pathology became a favorite among the Britart movement; artist Mat Collishaw has been quoted as saying that illustrations from the book, filled with gory images of deceased human bodies, inspired some of his work, as well as that of his contemporary Damien Hirst. While Gresham was not thrilled with his reputation when it came to the arts, he had a full career as a pathologist and professor, teaching pathology and serving as college president at Jesus College in Cambridge. He is also noted for helping to bring to light the murder of British woman Julie Ward while she was on safari in Africa and whose homicide was covered up by Kenyan authorities.

NEW YORK—Painter and illustrator Richard Merkin died Sept. 5 at his home in New York, the New York Times reports. He was 70. Merkin’s illustrations appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Harper’s, and he was as well known for his fashion sense as for his artwork. From 1988 to 1991, he authored the column “Merkin on Style” for GQ magazine. In addition to exhibiting frequently at the Terry Dintenfass Gallery, he spent 42 years teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he had earned a master’s degree, all the while living permanently in New York City.