Andrew Walker — currently the assistant director for curatorial affairs and curator of American art at the Saint Louis Art Museum — has been appointed director-designate of the Amon Carter, beginning January 31. He’ll officially take over from retiring director Ron Tyler on, well, April Fool’s Day.

Walker has had a 21-year career in museums, including curatorial positions at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Missouri History Museum. In the 1990s, he served as a research consultant for the Amon Carter.

The full release follows:

Amon Carter Museum of American Art Announces Andrew J. Walker as Director Designate

FORT WORTH, Texas—The Board of Trustees of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art announces the appointment of Andrew J. Walker, Ph.D., as Director Designate. Walker begins January 31, 2011, and will officially become director on April 1, 2011, the retirement date of current museum Director Ron Tyler, Ph.D.

“As we anticipate our turning the corner into our 50^th Anniversary, it is indeed a blessing that Andrew Walker will assume the directorship of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art,” said Ruth Carter Stevenson, president of the Board. “The Board and I are so very pleased that a man of such experience will come aboard to work with the staff and Board to set proper goals and put them into effect.”

Walker, 46, currently serves as the assistant director for curatorial affairs and curator of American art at the Saint Louis Art Museum, a position he has held for six years. He is responsible for collection development; acquisition, exhibitions and program management; and fundraising and donor development. Overseeing eight curatorial departments, he has organized five special exhibitions in his tenure at the museum, including major examinations of American artists George Caleb Bingham and Joe Jones.

In his 21-year museum career, Walker has also held curatorial positions at the Missouri History Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. In the early 1990s, he served as a research consultant for the Amon Carter, assisting with exhibition research on Thomas Eakins and William M. Harnett.

“What a tremendous time to join the Amon Carter Museum of American Art,” said Walker. “As the museum celebrates its 50^th Anniversary, it’s a privilege and honor to be selected as the leader at this pivotal point in the museum’s history. I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees and the staff as we enter the next 50 years.”

Walker graduated summa cum laude from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, receiving an Artium Baccalaureatus degree in history of art. He received his doctorate in the history of art from the University of Pennsylvania, completing the Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Fellowship for the Study of American Art and the Jacob Javits Fellowship with the United States Department of Education. His teaching experience includes instructor positions at the University of Chicago’s Department of Art History and the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of the History of Art. Walker’s community service consists of serving on two Saint Louis University boards, the Samuel Cupples House and the Virtual City Project, as well as on the community advisory board with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has delivered many articles for publication in scholarly journals across the country and lectured widely on American art.