The new director of the Portland Art Museum is Brian Ferriso.

Joseph Gallivan at the Tribune has a long article and a picture. Earlier, DK Row at the Oregonian had a heads up article and broke the story. Thankfully this ends months of sometimes ridiculous speculation and I like a lot of things about this guy already:

He's young and ambitious and gathering from Gallivan's article he is coming here because Portland is dynamic, smart man.

He used to be at the deputy director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, the place were I cut my teeth in the visual arts (their collection is suprising and superb btw). He was director of curatorial affairs before that and I think many will like the fact that he has more than just administrative knowledge.

He was most recently the director of Tulsa's Philbrook Museum, which has upgraded its contemporary collections and seems to know what a God Josiah McElheny is.... just bring McElheny here and watch attendance levels beat the dead French art shows we have been innundated with.

Welcome to Portland, its a testament to Portland's strength that the position was filled this quickly.