Michael K. Komanecky, chief curator of the Farnsworth Art Museum, will serve as interim director beginning Dec. 1, as the museum's board begins a search for a replacement for Lora Urbanelli.

Urbanelli, the museum's director for less than two years, announced last week that she was leaving for a position with a museum in New Jersey.

"The board saw no reason to reach beyond the museum's extraordinarily talented senior staff team for this assignment, and we are delighted that Michael has accepted the position," board president Richard Aroneau said in a press release.

"With such a great exhibition schedule already in place for 2009, including a major Robert Indiana retrospective and Maine's first look at Jamie Wyeth's critically acclaimed series 'Seven Deadly Sins,' we are confidant that Michael will provide the museum with a seamless transition period while the board conducts a careful and thorough search for a new director."

Komanecky has been chief curator since June 2007. He has served as chief curator for the Phoenix Art Museum; deputy director for Collections and Public Programs for the Dayton Art Institute; curator for the Currier Gallery of Art in Manchester, N.H.; and director of the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington.

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