Wilton House Museum and The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia are excited to announce the hiring of Keith D. MacKay as their next Executive Director. MacKay has been responsible for the preservation and interpretation of Ten Chimneys, a National Historic Landmark, as the site’s Director of Historic Preservation these past four years. Previously, Mr. MacKay was the Assistant Director of Historic Savannah Foundation’s Davenport House Museum, where he participated in a site-wide re-interpretation and collection focus re-direction, and as a Research Assistant for the White House Historical Association.
He has his M.A. in the History of Decorative Art from the Smithsonian + Corcoran School of Art. Here he focused on the study of historic interiors of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Keith MacKay received his B.A. in Art History from the University of Minnesota and is an alumnus of the Attingham Summer School. Publications include The Corcoran Mansion (2010) and Caroline Harrison’s Music Room (2010) in the White House History Journal and Ten Chimneys: Victorian Revival in Wisconsin in Nineteenth-Century Journal (2011).
I am thrilled to be joining the dedicated community responsible for the care and stewardship of Wilton House Museum. I am charmed by the site, impressed by the staff, and inspired by the NSCDA of Virginia’s bold vision for the organization’s future.
MacKay will officially assume his new role at Wilton at the end of May.