Mr. James Ballinger, The Sybil Harrington Director of the Phoenix Art Museum, is one of the country’s most respected scholars on the art of the American west and southwest.  He joined the Phoenix Art Museum in 1974 as Curator of Collections, Curator of American Art, and Chief Curator and became Director in 1982.  He is among the nation’s longest-serving museum directors, has served as president of the Association of Art Museum Directors, and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Council on the Arts.  He has organized more than 40 exhibitions and led two capital campaigns that expanded the museum from 72,000 to 285,000 square feet.

Mr. Ballinger’s book Frederic Remington (1989) is considered one of the most important ever written about the artist.  He holds his BA in American history and an MA in art history from the University of Kansas.

The Parrish Lecture honors the couple who donated many of the MFA’s most significant pre-Columbian objects.

This lecture is FREE with Museum admission.