The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts announces its decision on 21 January to name Justin Shubow, president of the National Civic Art Society in Washington, D.C., as the new Chairman of the Commission, succeeding Earl A. Powell III, former director of the National Gallery of Art. At the same meeting, the Commission voted Rodney Mims Cook, Jr., founder and president of the National Monuments Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia, as Vice Chairman. Along with the appointment of four new members, the election of Mr. Shubow and Mr. Cook marks a new period of leadership for the Commission.
The Commission of Fine Arts is an independent federal agency charged with giving expert advice to the President, the Congress, and the federal and District of Columbia governments on matters of design and aesthetics as they affect the federal interest and preserve the dignity of the nation’s capital. The Commission is composed of seven presidentially appointed experts in relevant disciplines, including art, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design.