IFCPP Advisory Board Member, Past Education Chair, and longtime colleague and friend, Ross Guthrie, retired from the Minneapolis Institute of Art last week. We're proud to recognize Ross as a true cultural property protection professional, and a leader in the field.
IFCPP thanks Ross for decades of service to the community, and congratulates him for a well-deserved and hard-earned retirement. Following is the official memo from the Chief Operating Officer at Mia - a recognition that sums up well Ross's dedication, and longstanding contribution to the field...
From: Michael Sanders, COO, Minneapolis Institute of Art:
In August of 1991, a young Ross Guthrie stepped off the plane from Tulsa to embark on his new career at Mia. For context, that was just two months before the Great Halloween Blizzard, because in Minnesota all things are measured from that event. Ross would survive the blizzard and spend the next 32 years ensuring the safety and security of Mia’s staff, collection, and facilities while maintaining an infectiously positive attitude.
During his time here, Ross has helped with every significant exhibition and organizational milestone for the past three decades. Some of his favorite exhibitions have been Star Wars: The Magic of Myth (2000), Eternal Egypt (2002), Terra Cotta Warriors (2012), and Martin Luther: Art and the Reformation (2016). During the Louvre and the Masterpiece (2009), the Director of the Louvre asked if Ross was going to sleep under Vermeer's The Astronomer to keep it safe. Ross did not, in fact, sleep under the painting but it says a lot about Ross that it doesn’t seem completely out of the question.
Ross has brought kindness and levity to every situation with which he has been involved. He famously, or maybe infamously, did a Tonight Show-based skit with Mike Newman (Ross was Johnny, Mike was Ed McMahon). He greatly enjoyed the celebrity-spotting at Mia’s Super Bowl parties. If a visitor contacted us to compliment the service they received at Mia, there is a better than average chance they were talking about Ross.
Ross has worked under four Mia Directors and two interim Directors. He survived multiple museum expansion projects, including the Target wing expansion that involved a temporary loading dock (which he loved). There have been countless late night emergency phone calls that Ross has diligently responded to that helped keep the museum functioning safely. More recently, Ross helped lead Mia through some of the most challenging times the organization has faced – COVID and the subsequent shutdown and the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd.
Through all of this, Ross has kept his trademarked calm and upbeat demeanor. He is quick to smile and joke with his colleagues and always an advocate for the Security department and staff. Ross’ legacy and impact at Mia cannot be overstated and he will be greatly missed.
