COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Dr. Paul D’Ambrosio has been named president and chief executive officer of the Farmers’ Museum and the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown. The announcement was made Monday by Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the Farmers’ Museum, Inc., and Dr. Douglas E. Evelyn, chairman of the New York State Historical Association.
 
D’Ambrosio, who assumes his new post on April 1, succeeds D. Stephen Elliott, who is leaving his post after six years to head the Minnesota Historical Society.
 
D’Ambrosio has been associated with the Farmers’ Museum, the New York State Historical Association and its Fenimore Art Museum for 26 years, serving as the institution’s chief curator since 1998. An expert in American folk art, D’Ambrosio is the author of Ralph Fasanella’s America and co-author of Folk Art’s Many Faces. He serves as adjunct professor of museum studies at the Cooperstown Graduate Program.
 
Two major folk art shows are opening at the Fenimore Art Museum this fall. Debuting October 1, “Inspired Traditions: Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana” includes mid-18th through mid-19th century portraits, sculpture, quilts, weathervanes, trade signs, furniture, baskets and Shaker objects from one of America’s most distinguished private collections. The exhibition accompanies the publication of Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence, Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana, Volume II.
 
Organized by quilt scholar Jacqueline M. Atkins, “Unfolding Stories: Culture and Tradition in American Quilts” includes quilts from the museum’s collection, displayed for the first time in more than a decade. The show opens on September 24.
 
Founded in 1943, the Farmers’ Museum interprets the lives of ordinary people and the agricultural and trade processes of rural 19th century New York State. It is one of the oldest continuously operating outdoor museums in the United States.
 
The New York State Historical Association, which dates to 1899, preserves and exhibits objects and documents significant to New York history and American culture.  The Association is home to the Fenimore Art Museum, featuring collections of American folk art, 19th century American fine art, and the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art.
 
Cooperstown’s new president is married to Anna D’Ambrosio, assistant director and curator of decorative arts at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, N.Y
 
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