Obituary: Thomas M. Messer, Longtime Guggenheim Museum Head

Thomas M. Messer, who gave the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum cachet and an international presence during 27 years as director, died Wednesday at age 93 at his home in Manhattan, writes The New York Times.

A native of the former Czechoslovakia who emigrated to the United States in 1939, Mr. Messer took over leadership of the Guggenheim in 1961, two years after it moved into its spiraling, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building. He was named head of the Guggenheim Foundation in 1980 and served in both positions until his retirement in 1988.

During Mr. Messer’s tenure the museum acquired two mostly modernist collections that have become cornerstones of its holdings and made its first international expansion, to Venice. It has since opened outposts in Bilbao and Berlin and is building another in Abu Dhabi.