Brian Ferriso is the Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA). The museum announced his appointment in August 2025, and he started on December 1, 2025.
Career
Ferriso came to Dallas from the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, which he led as director from 2006, nearly 20 years. According to the DMA, he more than doubled Portland’s curatorial staff and permanently endowed nearly half of those positions, eliminated $7 million in unfunded debt and grew the endowment by $40 million. He also created an endowment that pays for free admission for children under 17, free school tours and family free days.
In Portland he oversaw a $140 million expansion and renovation that connected two historic buildings and added nearly 100,000 square feet. He also worked to broaden the collection with more work by women and by Native American, Black and other underrepresented artists, and he created an assistant curator of Native American art position.
The Portland project was designed by Hennebery Eddy Architects and Vinci Hamp Architects. Ferriso also added Native American representation to the Portland museum’s board and formed a Native American Advisory Committee.
Before Portland, Ferriso was director of the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa and held senior curatorial roles at the Milwaukee Art Museum and at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. He has nearly 30 years of museum leadership experience.
At the Dallas Museum of Art
Ferriso joined the DMA at what coverage of his appointment called a transformative moment for the museum. The DMA is one of the largest art museums in the country, and its general admission is free.
Before his arrival, interim director Tamara Wootton Forsyth guided the museum through the leadership transition.
The DMA was founded in 1903 and today holds a collection that spans thousands of years and cultures. Its campus on Harwood Street anchors the western end of the Dallas Arts District, near the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Crow Museum of Asian Art.
Recognition
Ferriso was named to D CEO’s 2027 Dallas 500 in the arts and entertainment category.