March 2009
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s, Ann and Graham Gund Director, Malcolm Rogers, has been honored by the President of the Republic of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, with a special recognition.
A medal, the Commendatore al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Commander of the Order to the Merit of the Italian Republic), one of the highest honors presented by the President of the Italian Republic, was presented by the Italian Ambassador to the USA, His Excellency Giovanni Castellaneta, at a ceremony at the museum.
Rogers received this award on the occasion of the opening of the MFA exhibition, ‘Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice,’ which is the first major exploration of the competition that developed among the three greatest painters of 16th-century Venice as seen through thematic juxtapositions of their works. The exhibition, which includes 13 masterpieces lent by Italy, is presented under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic.
“In the past several years, Malcolm Rogers has played a crucial role in fostering, in the most significant and effective way, the cultural cooperation between the MFA and Italy,” said Ambassador Castellaneta, “and the high presidential award I present tonight expresses Italy’s deep gratitude, in the framework of such a magnificent celebration of Italian art.”
The Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana was established in 1951, a few years after the end of World War II and the birth of a democratic Italy. It is conferred by the President of the Italian Republic on Italian and foreign citizens who have shown great merit and distinguished themselves through lasting contributions to Italian society in the fields of literature, the economy, public service, and social, philanthropic, and humanitarian activities. Among the award’s prior recipients are diplomats, academicians, senior Italian politicians, high-ranking officials, and religious leaders.
Rogers became Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA in September 1994, and since then has broadened the ways in which the museum engages with the public, including expanding its encyclopedic collection, developing a diverse exhibition schedule, implementing one of the first publicly accessible collections databases on mfa.org, and enhancing arts education programs.
Prior to his arrival at the MFA, Rogers served as Deputy Director (from 1983) and Deputy Keeper (from 1985) at the National Portrait Gallery, London. He is an authority on 16th-, 17th-, and early 18th-century portraits, and has written on Van Dyck’s English period.
In 2003, Rogers was awarded the honor of Commander, Order of the British Empire (CBE), by HM The Queen in recognition of his services to the arts in both the UK and the United States.
In 2007, he was honored with the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters), by the Republic of France, which recognized Rogers’ significant contribution to furthering the arts and letters in France and throughout the world.
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