Jonathan Fine, American art historian, scientific director of the Weltmuseum in Vienna since July 2021, has been chosen to succeed Sabine Haag as general manager of the city’s Kunsthistorisches Museumsverband, overseeing three major Viennese museums.
From January 1, 2025, Fine will be responsible for the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Weltmuseum and the Austrian Theater Museum. A five-member selection committee chose him from 20 applicants, according to a press release from the Austrian Ministry of Culture.
“Jonathan Fine has convinced me that he not only understands the burning issues facing museums today, but also wants to tackle them,” Culture Minister Andrea Mayer said in a statement. communicated. “He defends a resolutely modern concept of a museum that addresses social issues without neglecting its fundamental tasks.”
Fine led a commission of experts that last week presented recommendations to the Austrian government on the creation of a restitution committee to deal with claims for objects in national museums acquired in a colonial context. Before joining the Weltmuseum, he was responsible for the collections at the Museum of Ethnology in Berlin. His area of expertise is African art.
Prior to becoming an art historian, Fine practiced as a lawyer specializing in international commercial litigation, constitutional law and human rights.
