Keywords

museums, curatorial studies, museum education, experience, pedagogy

Abstract

This dissertation examines the historical precedents for the experiential turn in American art museums by analyzing the directorships of Paul Gardner, Chick Austin, and Leslie Cheek Jr. between 1932 and 1968. Drawing on archival research and museum studies scholarship, this study reevaluates how these directors innovated museum practice through theatricality, mass media, and audience engagement—long before contemporary museological discourse framed such strategies as revolutionary. Gardner’s use of radio broadcasts at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Austin’s integration of circus spectacle at the Ringling Museum, and Cheek’s scenographic exhibition designs at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts illustrate how mid-century museum leaders actively redefined visitor experience while navigating tensions between curatorial authority and public accessibility. By situating these case studies within the broader evolution of museum education and exhibition design, this dissertation challenges dominant narratives that position the experiential turn as a recent phenomenon. Instead, it highlights a longer history of institutional experimentation that anticipated early twenty-first-century debates on participatory museum models. In doing so, it provides valuable insights for contemporary museum professionals grappling with the ongoing negotiation between connoisseurship and entertainment, scholarly expertise and public engagement.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Watson, Keri

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

Texts and Technology

Identifier

DP0029350

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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