Louise Mackie Retires from Cleveland Museum of Art

Louise W. Mackie announced her retirement from the Cleveland Museum of Art, where she has served as Curator of Textiles and Islamic Art since 1998. Her last day was Friday, June 17th.

Before arriving in Cleveland, Louise served as the department head and curator of the textile and costume department at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada (1981–98). She trained in textiles and carpets under Irene Emery and Charles Grant Ellis at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, where she was curator of the Eastern Hemisphere Collections (1971–80). Previously, she was secretary in the Islamic department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1964–67).

Louise, a founding member and Past President of The Textile Society of America (1996-1998), is the author of the recent magnificent opus on Islamic Textiles Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th–21st Century (Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015).

She plans to attend the TSA Symposium in Savannah this October, where we look forward to congratulating her on 46 years as a leader in the field of textiles!