Dr. Julia Alexander, the first woman to serve as executive director and CEO of the Walters Art Museum, died Sunday night from a heart attack.
Alexander passed away at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Mephis, Tennessee native was 57 years old.
After 11 years as the Walters’ fifth director, Alexander left the museum in 2024 to serve as president of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which supports the conservation, education, and appreciation of European art and architecture.
Kate Burgin, who served as the Walters’ deputy director under Alexander before returning to the museum in January to succeed her former boss, called Alexander “a mentor and a friend” who has had a “lasting and signifcant” influence on the Walters and all the lives she touched.
“One of her most important contributions to the Walters was shifting the museum’s focus toward creating greater and more meaningful engagement with our local community—a visionary decision to center our work on Baltimore and Maryland,” said Burgin, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Director and CEO of the museum, in a statement. “Her leadership created a model of profound local impact, supported by the museum’s global reach.”
Burgin added, “As we carry her legacy forward, we do so with deep gratitude for the foundation she built and the encouragement she gave all of us to do our best for the Walters and this community.”
Peter Bain, president of the museum’s Board of Trustees, said Alexander highlighted the unifying ability of art.
“For more than a decade, Julia led the museum with unwavering courage, deep integrity, and a profound commitment to both the institution and the broader community,” Bain said in a statement. “Her leadership not only strengthened the museum’s foundation but also deepened its relevance and connection to the many audiences it serves. For many of us, Julia was more than a colleague—she was a friend. She shared her deep love of art generously, along with a steadfast belief in its transformative power to bring people together. She will be dearly missed.”
Less than two weeks from now, the Walters is set to open its first long-term installation of Latin American art, a project that Alexander worked on while director.
Alexander is survived by her two children, Jack and Beatrice (Bede); her mother, Catharine Alexander; her former husband, Dr. John Marciari; and her sister, Kitty Alexander Shirley.
“Julia’s career was one of remarkable success,” her family wrote in a statement, shared by the Walters.
Baltimore welcomed Alexander in 2013 when she joined The Walters Art Museum as the Andrea B. & John H. Laporte Executive Director and CEO.
Shortly before beginning her leadership of the museum, Alexander told Baltimore Fishbowl that the Walters was “one of the great museums in the country in a city that is on the move.”
Then, about one month into her new role, Alexander spoke with Baltimore Fishbowl again for a Big Fish interview.
She said her life philosophy was: “Make a difference, treat everyone as you wish to be treated, and always strive to have fun doing what you do.”
Alexander exuded love for her family and excitement to put down roots in Baltimore.
“My family couldn’t be more delighted about moving here,” she said in that Big Fish interview. “Baltimore is a great city with vibrant culture, deep history, and a variety of land- and cityscapes.”
She added, “there are few cities that are as committed to bringing arts to the broadest communities, and we love its diversity and individuality.”
Even in her early days at the Walters, Alexander sought to not only create individual engaging exhibitions, but to foster a museum that was wholly a destination for all Baltimoreans.
“[W]e are all thinking together about how to make the Walters ‘top of mind’ for all Baltimoreans — both to attract the first-time visitor and to create incentives for long-time supporters to sustain and renew their excitement,” she said at the time. “More generally, we are working to figure out how we can foster in Baltimore a culture of ‘museum going’ rather than ‘exhibition going’ — and we look forward to working with our cultural partners across the city to make this happen.”
During her tenure with the museum, Alexander steered the Walters through the COVID-19 pandemic-related closures, reopenings, and safety protocols; represented the museum during workers’ efforts to unionize; oversaw the museum’s efforts to address its own history and role in systemic racism; and expanded the Walters’ community outreach.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1967, Alexander grew up in Claremont, California, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles.
In 1989, she graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College, where she studied art history and French. Alexander went on to earn a master’s degree in French literature in 1992 from New York University.
Afterwards, she attended Yale University, where she earned a master’s degree in 1993 and completed her PhD in art history in 1999.
Alexander joined the Yale Center for British Art at Yale University in 1996, first serving as curator of paintings and sculpture and then as the museum’s associate director of programmatic affairs and associate director for exhibitions and publications.
In 2008, she joined the San Diego Museum of Art as deputy director for curatorial affairs.
“The family asks for privacy and space during this time; information about services will be forthcoming,” Alexander’s family wrote in their statement.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with statements from the Walters’ executive director Kate Burgin and board president Peter Bain.
