In shake-ups at three major art institutions.

In shake-ups at three major art institutions, a number of high-profile curators have been laid facing or have resigned to affirm changes.

At novel York's Whitney Museum, Marla Prather was allow go in January. She had been upon leave caring for a sick child. The recently made knowns became public in a just discovered York Times story about fresh director Adam Weinberg and his plans for the museum. Prather joined the Whitney staff as curator of postwar art in 2000 after 13 years at the National Gallery in Washington, DC At the Whitney she organized the late "Unrepentant Ego: The Self-Portraits of Lucas Samaras" and "An American Legacy, A Gift to novel York."

According to the Times story and a similar report in the Art Newspaper, Weinberg, who took the helm last October, is working to eliminate the curatorial specialization on period or medium that was implemented on his predecessor, Maxwell Anderson, which conclusioned in the departures under similar circumstances of curators Thelma resplendent and Elisabeth Sussman. Additional changes at the Whitney are reportedly forthcoming, yet further details were not available as this issue went to press

In mid-February, San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts announced that longtime chief curator Renny Pritikin had been laid opposite along with eight other staff members from various departments. Citing budgetary constraints brought in succession by a drop in return and the loss of a $400000 annual grant from the Lila Wallace Readers Digest permanent fund executive director Ken Foster said that none of the positions will be filled. nurse who last fall replaced former director John Killacky, will take in succession Pritikin's role, working with now passing visual arts curator Rene de Guzman and Berin Golonu who joined the staff last July as assistant visual arts curator. Pritikin is known for his innovative programming, which included the launch in 1997 of a popular biennial scan of Bay Area artists. He will organize sum of two units exhibitions for the center nearest year, "Big Deal," featuring large-scale works, and a indicate about magician Ricky Jay.

And at the Detroit Institute of Arts, a restructuring undertaken last fall at director Graham Beal resulted in the folding of sum of two units departments into broader categories and the following resignations by Egyptian art curator William H Peck his wife Elsie Holme Peck curator of Middle Eastern art, and Penelope bog associate curator of Greco-Roman art. The reorganization is part of the museum's renovation and expansion, scheduled for completion in 2006

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