1951-
Mary Sue Sweeney Price was the director of the Newark Museum from 1993 to 2013. When she retired she was called, “inspirational, insightful, a keen politician, a cultural warrior” and “the grand dame of our arts community.”
Mary Sue started working at the Museum in 1975 as supervisor in the public relations office, appearing on the TV show Focus: New Jersey to discuss the museum as early as 1976. In 1980, she was promoted to supervisor of programs and publications. In 1984 she became special assistant to the director and then in 1987 she was promoted to assistant director.
Early in her career at the museum she worked to enhance Black History Month celebrations and he served on the committee of the Black Film Festival from at least 1981, when she was pictured in the Star Ledger with her future husband Clement Price. She also published the 400+ page catalog “American Art in the Newark Museum”.
As director, she oversaw several large projects including renovation of the Ballantine House and the creation of Horizon Plaza, as well as many important exhibitions, including “Crowning Glory: Images of the Virgin in the Arts of Portugal,” “Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity,” “Picturing America,” and “Constructive Spirit: Abstract Art in South and North America.” She said the collection often left her speechless and was also extremely committed to the museum’s education programs saying, “The museum provides an education not found in books.” She said, “I feel incredibly lucky to have ended up in a career which I believe in.”
Of Newark she said: “The other community we try to be part of is the Newark community, people who have lived and worked here for some decades. Some of them are native, some have moved here, all of them believe in the city and believe in doing whatever they can to build it up again” and “Newark is a great American city with a great deal of energy.”
Mary Sue is a past President of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and past President of ArtTable Inc., for women leaders in visual arts. She was a founding Trustee and longtime Vice President of ArtPride NJ and a Commissioner of the American Alliance of Museums.
Throughout her museum career, she worked with other Newark groups including serving on the board of Planned Parenthood in 1978. She also served as President of the Newark Arts Council and on the advisory committee for Newark School of the Arts.
Mary Sue serves on the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance Board of Directors.
Mary Sue grew up near Pittsburgh and attended Allegheny College and attended Harvard’s Publishing Procedures program as well as the American Federation of Arts/Getty Foundation Museum Leadership Institute. She received honorary doctorates from Rutgers University, Drew University, Caldwell College and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and has been honored by the government of Portugal, among many awards.
Mary Sue was married to the the historian Dr. Clement Alexander Price, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor at Rutgers University and lived for many years in a brownstone in the Lincoln Park district of Newark. They married in 1988.
She was honored by NJPAC in 2006 with her husband, and was inducted into the Newark Women’s Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2024, she received the Katherine Coffey Award.
Bibliography
https://delawarehighlands.org/about/board-of-directors/sweeneyprice/
Birge, Elizabeth “Connected: Newark Museum Director is Passionate About Art and Her City” Star Ledger Nov 26, 2006
Finley, Charles Q. “Museum Director Sees High Tech Aiding Culture” Star Ledger Apr 25, 1993
Shoup, Mike, “Newark Full of Surprises” Star Ledger Apr 28, 1996
TV Guide, Star Ledger May 23, 1976
“Supervisor Appointed At Museum” Star Ledger Jan 30, 1980
“Black Reels” Star Ledger Jun 12, 1981
“Medical Pulse” Star Ledger Apr 23, 1978
“Promotions at Museum in Newark” Star Ledger Apr 27, 1987
Maske, Monica “A Night in Old Lhasa” Star Ledger Nov 3, 1987
“New Bride” Star Ledger Dec 11, 1988
Juri, Carmen “Newark Museum Tries to Right…” Star Ledger Jan 20, 1990
Kukla, Barbara “Arts Council Conclave” Star Ledger Jun 24, 1991
“Seven Women Honored As Torchbearers” Star Ledger Mar 28, 2002
“An Artful Citizen” [Editorial] Star Ledger May 21, 2013
McGlone Peggy, “Newark Museum Director Steps Down” Star Ledger May 17, 2013
https://www.newarkschoolofthearts.org/board-of-trustees-1