The Board of Directors of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) unanimously appointed Pierre Terjanian. As of July 1, 2025, he will succeed Matthew Teitelbaum, director of the institution since 2015. “He knew how to win the confidence and respect for his colleagues, and his human qualities make him the ideal leader to guide the museum to the future” said its president Emi M. Winterer to Artdependence Magazine.
With almost thirty years of experience in renowned institutions, Pierre Terjanian joined the MFA in January 2024 as chief curator, thus supervising the museum collection comprising more than 500,000 objects.
He had previously been a associate conservative of weapons and armor and acting manager of the department of arts and sculptures of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 2012, Pierre Terjanian became a curator of the Department of Arms and Armures at the Met, where he notably organized the exhibition The Last Knight, presented in 2019.
At the Met, he also co-chaired a working group for the reopening of the museum during the Cavid pandemic, implementing security plans. He is also a seasoned fundraising collector, having notably obtained for the Met a donation by Ronald S. Lauder comprising 91 pieces of European armor, the most important in eighty years.
Graduated in law (Paris II Panthéon-Assas), management (HEC), and holder of a diploma in history (University of Metz, then Berkeley), Pierre Terjanian followed the teaching of the Center for Curatorial Leadership (2017), a training program for conservatives at Columbia Business School.
“It is an honor to take the direction of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts” said Pierre Terjanian. “The MFA has exceptional assets to continue to serve its audiences and play a central role in global culture”. Questioned by the New York Times On the general climate of museums since the Trump administration, which has closed federal agencies granting many aid and subsidies to cultural institutions, Pierre Terjanian replied that this environment forced them to continue to continue “Think about their mode of operation”. “We want to be in accordance with all the laws, and we follow closely all the changes”he assured, adding that the museum, which receives less than 1 % of its government budget, currently provided for no significant change.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in the United States.
