Stuart M. Silver

Stuart Silver, a leader and innovator in concept, design, and planning for cultural institutions, passed away on May 6, 2021 due to complications from myelofibrosis.  He was 84.

As Design Director at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1962-1978, he was responsible for over 200 exhibitions, including landmarks such as “In the Presence of Kings,” "Treasures of Tutankhamen," "The Great Age of Frescoes," and the Islamic Wing, and the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing of Primitive Art. He revolutionized museum exhibitions, and was the first person to have museum installations reviewed by The New York Times as an art form.

Mr. Silver also designed the entire Vatican Pavilion for the Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans. His consulting firm, Stuart Silver & Associates, was the design partner for the Peabody Essex Museum’s Asian Export Art Wing, and for the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum. Additionally, he was a Life Trustee of the Jewish Museum, as well as a trustee of the Henry J. Leir Charitable Foundation.

He was Project Director/Designer for the United States Pavilion at the Taejon World Exposition, in Taejon, South Korea in 1993.  Mr. Silver also acted as Project Consultant for the development of the 150,000 Sq. ft. traveling exhibit, "Saudi Arabia: Yesterday and Today," which toured major US cities over two years.

Mr. Silver's work in exhibition and graphic design was recognized with over 60 national awards.  He lectured and taught at Pratt Institute, Yale Graduate School of Design, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.  In addition, he served as chairman of the Design Review Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1985-1987.

Mr. Silver was born in New York City on May 4, 1937. He was a producer and writer for radio stations WRVR-FM and WBAI-FM, and a disk jockey for an Army radio station in Korea. After the army he received a BFA Pratt Institute in 1960.  He also received Graduate Scholarship from the Yale School of Design in1961, attended The New School in 1970, Wharton School of Business in 1983, and NYU Business School 1985.

Mr. Silver, of Scarsdale, NY, is survived by his wife of 59 years, Elizabeth, daughters Jessica, Leslie, and Lauren, his granddaughter Anna Clare Pauker, and his sister, Claire Howard.

In lieu of flowers donations should be made to Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.

HAWTHORNE FUNERAL HOME

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