James Rondeau Returns as Director of Art Institute of Chicago Following Plane Incident
James Rondeau will return as director of the Art Institute of Chicago following reports that he had undressed on a plane to Germany. CBS News first reported the news on Thursday.
Rondeau had taken a voluntary leave from the museum’s top post, which he has held since 2016. According to CBS, he will resume his role on Monday.
“Board leadership of the Art Institute of Chicago has conducted an independent investigation of this incident and is confident in James Rondeau’s leadership and ability to continue as the President and Director of the museum,” the institution said in a statement.
CBS previously reported that the investigation arose from an incident that occurred on a plane from Chicago to Munich in April. It said that police had been “called to the plane following reports of a passenger stripping off his clothes.” The passenger was reportedly Rondeau, who “drank alcohol and took prescription medication.”
In a statement of his own, Rondeau said, “I deeply regret this incident and the impact it has had on the museum and on my colleagues. I have dedicated the past 27 years of my professional career to the Art Institute and I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue furthering its mission.”
He first joined the museum in 1998 as an associate curator of contemporary art, rising to chair of that curatorial department in 2004 and taking the reins at the museum in 2016. His achievements as director include gaining a $75 million donation from Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed last year in support of an expansion for the 19th-century art galleries.
