Rishel, Joseph J., 1993, 1996

Although d'Harnoncourt did not assume the role of Chief Executive Officer until 1997, her appointment was announced by February of the previous year. Thus her appointments as Museum Director and Chief Executive Officer define the parameters of the "1982-1996" sub-subseries. As the number of files indicates, her appointment as director drew many congratulations. Well-wishers included artists such as Emlen and Gloria Etting, Sol Lewitt and George Segal, as well as other prominent figures, such as Pierre and Tana Matisse and Buckminster Fuller. Her second appointment drew congratulations primarily from friends and colleagues in the Philadelphia area.

A career path not taken is the subject of the "Various: MoMA director search" folder. When Richard Oldenburg announced his resignation as director of the Museum of Modern Art in 1993, a protracted search for his replacement began. D'Harnoncourt was one of the contenders, and according to newspaper accounts, perhaps the only woman considered for the position. A clipping from a local newspaper documents her decision to decline the offer, and the letter from Robert P. Casey, at that time the Governor of Pennsylvania, is one of the items expressing pleasure in her choice to stay.