Susan Fisher Sterling Retiring as Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts
10May 12, 2026
After eighteen years in the position, the director of DC’sNational Museum of Women in the Arts(NMWA) Susan Fisher Sterling has announced she’s retiring, per a press release. Sterling has spent close to four decades at the institution overall, having joined in 1988 as an associate curator just one year after the museum’s founding.
“NMWA is an institution where women’s voices are heard and diverse stories are told through exhibitions and programs that inspire and motivate us to create a more just and inclusive world,” Sterling said in a statement. “Leading the museum has been an immense privilege, and I am proud to have been part of expanding the art historical canon and our public discourse around women’s creative accomplishments in the 21st century.”
Founded by Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, the NMWA was the first institution in the world dedicated solely to championing women artists, and under Sterling’s stewardship, the museum’s collection grew to include over 6,000 works by over 1,500 artists. Sterling oversaw a major renovation of the museum, which was completed in 2023; she also led the museum’s partnerships with international institutions such as the Louvre, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Tate Modern in London.
Sterling also played an integral part in organizing key solo exhibitions for artists including Judy Chicago, Julie Taymor and Faith Ringgold.
Sterling’s retirement comes amidst a tough time for American museums under the latest Trump administration. According to a survey conducted last year by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), 34 percent of museums have been hit with the cancellation of government grants or contracts and 13 percent have been subjected to new legal restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion activities. Trump has also reportedly made attempts to wrest control over the Smithsonian Institution.
The NMWA is not a Smithsonian Institution; however, Trump has made his opinions on women-centric institutions known. A 2025 executive order from Trump used transphobic rhetoric when it stated that “the forthcoming Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women’s sports.”