Georgia Museum of Art | Info

William U. Eiland
Director of the Georgia Museum of Art

A native of Sprott, Ala., William Underwood Eiland is the director of the Georgia Museum of Art. He took a B.A. (summa cum laude) from Birmingham-Southern College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

A Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Eiland has been the recipient of several fellowships, including the Danforth Teaching Fellowship at the University of Virginia, a Museum Professionals Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Research Fellowship from the University of Georgia Willson Center for Humanities and Arts. He has also edited and contributed to more than 50 publications, including Art Papers, Georgia Journal, US Art, Ceramics Monthly, Southern Antiques and English Literature in Transition and has been general editor of seven catalogues at the Georgia Museum of Art. Notably, Eiland authored "The Truth in Things: The Life and Career of Lamar Dodd," published by the University of Georgia Press.

He serves on the boards of the American Association of Museums, the Southeastern Museums Conference and the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries; is a trustee of the Association of Art Museum Directors; and is chairman of the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Advisory Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Eiland earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries in 2007. He was named 2000 Museum Professional of the Year by the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries and 1999 Outstanding Museum Professional by the Southeastern College Art Conference. He also served as the vice chairman of the American Association of Museums in 2004–2005.