“We were saddened to hear about the passing of Aaron De Groft. Our thoughts are with his family at this time of loss.”
– ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART
According to a recent report by the Herald-Tribune out of Sarasota, former director of Orlando Museum of Art, Aaron De Groft, has passed away.
According to the paper, De Groft, passed away on January 18th at the age of 59, following a “brief illness.” He had a master’s in art history from the University of South Carolina and a doctorate in art history from Florida State University.
He worked in a number of institutions across the state including Crummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, the John and Mable Ringling Museum in Sarasota, and as the director of the Muscarelle Museum of Art at William and Mary in Virginia.
While the director at the Orlando Museum of art, De Groft tried to increase the diversity of the institution’s reach and its permanent collection. His time with the museum was cut short in 2022 by the museum’s trustees when a high-profile exhibit of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat turned out to be forgeries and was seized by the FBI.
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