David Mickenberg
David Mickenberg (born April 24, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American author and museum professional who has led several art museums. He earned a BA from Colgate University, an MA in art history from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and studied toward a PhD in 12th‑century French architecture at Indiana University. He worked as a program coordinator, lecturer and acting director for the National Endowment for the Humanities Learning Museum Program at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Mickenberg later served as director of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, the Davis Museum at Wellesley College (where he also taught art), and the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia. In 2013 he became the director of the Allentown Art Museum, a position he held until he stepped down in February 2020.
During his career he led major projects such as a $25 million expansion at the Block Museum and a move to boost public visits at Allentown by offering free admission during certain periods. He also oversaw acquisitions like a Franz Kline mural for the Lehighton American Legion post. His tenures included controversies, including staff resignations at Oklahoma City and an incident at the Davis Museum involving a Fernand Léger painting that disappeared while in transit.
Mickenberg is the author of Songs of Glory: Medieval Art from 900–1500 (1985) and co-author of Printmaking in America (1995). He co-edited The Last Expression: Art and Auschwitz (2002) and wrote the introduction to The Graven Image: The Rise of Professional Printmakers in Antwerp and Haarlem, 1540–1640 (1993).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:49 (CET).