Art Beat: DATMA founder Roger Mandle’s wide-ranging impact on local arts

Don Wilkinson- The Herald News

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Roger Mandle passed away on Nov. 28 at the age of 79, survived by his wife, the painter Gayle Wells Mandle, his daughter, artist and educator Julia Mandle and his son, architect Luke Mandle.

This is not exactly an “artist profile,” as Mandle was not an artist, per se. But the level of vigor enthusiasm and devotion to the art world and arts education, and the sheer tenacity to make things happen, makes him as creative as any painter or sculptor.

Roger Mandle is seen with his wife, painter Gayle Wells Mandle.

He had a long and storied career including stints at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art and as Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D,C.

From 1993 until 2008, he was the President of the Rhode Island School of Design, and from 2008 until 2012, he served as the director of the Qatar Museums Authority, where he oversaw the development of 12 museums, including the Museum of Islamic Art and the National Museum of Qatar.