L to R, Kirk Johnson (Director, National Museum of Natural History), Dr. Mary Jo Arnoldi, Craig Allen Subler (husband) and Rob Spiller (Assistant Secretary for Advancement)
“For nearly 40 years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the most extraordinary and dedicated staff throughout the Smithsonian,” said Dr. Mary Jo Arnoldi, who is now curator emerita in the National Museum of Natural History’s department of anthropology.
“I’m on the receiving end,” said her husband Craig Allen Subler. “The Smithsonian’s collections have been a constant source of enrichment for me—first as a kid visiting the museums and later as an artist and teaching professor.” A printmaker, Subler’s recent series of etchings was inspired by Smithsonian research on the Enola Gay.
Recently, they established the Mary Jo Arnoldi and Craig Allen Subler Endowment at the Museum of Natural History. “We want to see all of this great work continue in the future, especially for the African ethnology collections,” said Arnoldi. The endowment will support scholarship, provenance research, digital photography, and archival records.
Arnoldi’s long career in Africa traces back to 1970, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal. “I left my heart in West Africa,” she reminisced, “and when I returned for my PhD in African Art History, I focused on the social meaning of the arts and how people use material culture to create their worlds.”
At the Museum of Natural History, Arnoldi worked on two major exhibitions that shaped her as a scholar and writer. African Voices, the permanent exhibition of African history and culture, represents a philosophical shift for the museum. “In this exhibit, Africans are the primary voices telling their rich stories.” Objects of Wonder explores the scope and splendor of the museum’s vast research collections. Subler, who directed the University of Missouri-Kansas City Gallery of Art for more than 20 years, has curated over 180 exhibitions and published 32 catalogues. At UMKC, the couple collaborated on African exhibitions, including African Arts of Dressing the Head, Somalia In Word and Image, and Everyday Patterns: Factory Printed Cloth from Africa.
“Over the years, I have benefitted from several opportunities to travel to Mali and watch Mary Jo do what she does so well,” shared Subler, who helped document masquerade performances through photos and film, which will become part of the Museum’s archives. Other times they coordinated travel to pursue their own projects. While Arnoldi conducted research in the National Archives in Dakar, Subler led a U.S. Embassy-sponsored workshop with contemporary Senegalese printmakers.
In retirement, their travels have continued, from new adventures in the Arctic and Antarctica to a return to a much-changed Egypt. Arnoldi said,“Traveling to Egypt recently with Smithsonian Journeys was a fantastic experience, learning from the program’s expert Egyptologists.”
“I was given an opportunity from an early age to study at a museum,” said Subler, “and supporting the Smithsonian seemed like a logical thing to do.” Arnoldi concurred, “We feel it is important to support the future of the Institution and to give back in all the ways we can.”
Through their endowment, their work will inspire future generations.
To learn how you can join Mary Jo and Craig in supporting what you are most passionate about at the Smithsonian, contact the Office of Gift Planning at 888-419-7584 or legacy@si.edu.