Lisa Taylor

Lisa Suter Taylor (1933–1991) was an American artist and museum director. Taylor served as the first director of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design from 1969 to 1987, and was the first woman director of a museum within the Smithsonian Institution. Early life and education Taylor was born in New York, the daughter of architect Theo von Bergen-Maier and painter Martina Weincerl. She trained as a painter, ceramist, and calligrapher, studying at the Corcoran School of Art, Georgetown University, and Johns Hopkins University. She was awarded honorary doctorates from the Parsons School of Design and Cooper Union. Career From 1958 to 1962 Taylor was a staff member of the President's Fine Arts Commission. From 1962 to 1966 she was the membership director at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In 1966 she started at the Smithsonian as a Program Director, where she developed a successful education program. Cooper Hewitt - Smithsonian Design Museum The collection of the Cooper Union Museum came under the wing of the Smithsonian in 1967. Shortly after, the Andrew Carnegie Mansion was donated to the Smithsonian in 1968 to become the new home for the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design. After its transfer to the Smithsonian, the museum was renamed the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, and Taylor was appointed director in 1969. This made her the first ever woman to lead a Smithsonian museum.