Ron Tyler ’66 MA (PhD ’68) has come full circle in the Fort Worth arts scene. In June, the professor whose lifelong passion has been American, United States-Mexico Borderlands and art history will assume the reins of director of the Amon Carter Museum – the second time he has left a teaching career to make his mark on the Fort Worth institution.

When the Carter opened in 1961, the history of Western art was largely unwritten. In 1969, then-director Mitchell A. Wilder recognized the tremendous historical aspect of art – and the dearth of written art history – and hired Tyler as curator of history to put the museum’s art into a historical context. Many of the museum’s volumes of art history, now numbering nearly 200, came as a result of Tyler’s work and today are key publications in the history of American and Western art.

During his 17 years in various positions at the Carter, Tyler worked on numerous exhibits that focused on America and the West, researching and illustrating history using art. When he left in 1986 to join the faculty at the University of Texas, he held the position of assistant director for collections and programs and had countless books and publications to his credit. He also served as director of the Texas State Historical Association from 1986 to 2005, where his administrative experience helped groom him for his current position.

As he embarks on his second career at the Carter, he said he looks forward to continuing some of his original interests. Although the museum already has a tentative schedule of exhibitions for the next five years, he said many of them happen to be in his interest area.

“Someone asked me if I had been looking for a situation like this; I told them I’ve been looking for a situation like this all my life,” he said. “I was fortunate that it came looking for me. I thought it was improbable that I would come back to the Carter, but it certainly worked out.”

Tyler replaces Rick Stewart, who stepped down to assume a curatorial role. He had been director since 1995.