The family of Charles King Steiner (Chevy Chase, MD and Crandon, WI) is saddened to announce his passing on January 9, 2025.
Charles K. Steiner (Chevy Chase, MD and Crandon, WI), loving father, husband, artist, and museum director, passed away of natural causes at home on January 9, age 73.
Born in Champaign, Illinois to Louise K. Steiner and Gilbert Y. Steiner, Charlie was big brother to his siblings, Dan and Paula, who survive him. The family moved to the Washington, D.C. metro area when he was in high school. He went on to earn a BFA in Studio Art from Cornell University (1973) and an MFA in Painting from The George Washington University (1976).
Charlie began his professional career in New York City, where in addition to exhibiting his artwork, he spent two summers as a visiting artist at the Edward F. Albee Foundation. Building on his professional training as an artist and his conviction that everyone can enjoy and benefit from the arts (informed by his early experience working with people with disabilities at the Foundation Perceval [Saint-Prex, Switzerland] and at Camp Tapawingo [Manassas, VA]), Charlie initiated museum services and programs for visitors with disabilities, first as a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and later as a member of the Museum's staff. At a time when few such programs existed-more than ten years before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed (1990)-his efforts established the Met as a pioneer in this newly emerging field, not only through innovative programming but through Charlie's publications and lectures. While working at the Museum, he met Mary B. Shepard, who also worked in the Museum's Education Department. They married in 1981 and had two daughters, Frances and Hope.
In 1986, Charlie joined the Princeton University Art Museum (Princeton, NJ). During his tenure as Assistant and then Associate Director, he supervised a major building expansion, museum operations, and the installations of numerous special exhibitions. He was particularly proud of his work to establish an Andrew Mellon Foundation project to integrate underutilized collections in the University's teaching mission. In 2000, he became the Executive Director of the Wichita Art Museum (Wichita, KS) where he oversaw the design and building expansion of a 34,000 square foot addition, which provided additional exhibition space as well as an impressive great hall and event spaces, a new restaurant, shop, library, and art storage. He completed his twelve-year tenure with the celebration of the museum's 75th anniversary.
Throughout his museum career, Charlie continued to paint in both figural and abstract styles-always large (www.charleskingsteiner.com). He showed his work both locally and in exhibitions across the country. His works are included in a broad spectrum of public collections, including New York Health and Hospitality Corporation (New York, NY), 3M Corporation (Minneapolis, MN), Emprise Bank (Wichita, KS), and most recently, the Fort Smith Arkansas Regional Airport and the Windgate Gallery of Art and Design, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (Fort Smith, AR).
When he retired in 2011, Charles and Mary moved to Fort Smith, AR where Mary established an art history program at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and he joined the faculty as an adjunct instructor in the Studio program. When Mary retired in 2021, they returned to Chevy Chase where he continued to paint and help Mary with the gardening.
Charlie was beloved for his creativity, kindness, support of others, and wacky sense of humor. His life-long dedication to the arts, especially in providing accessibility to all museum visitors, has left a profound impact. He was predeceased by his parents and is survived by his wife, daughters Hope and Frances (Kieran Coe), his grandchildren Brad and Kate, his siblings Dan and Paula (David Hellman), brother-in-law David Shepard (Laura), and many beloved nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Charles K. Steiner can be made to benefit Accessibility Programming at The Metropolitan Museum of Art-a cause for which he remained passionate.
- To contribute online, donors can go to www.metmuseum.org/donate and indicate in the "Donation Note" section that their gift is to support Accessibility Programs in memory of Charles K. Steiner. They can also select the button that says "Dedicate my donation in honor or memory of someone" just below the donation note.
- To contribute by check, donors can send checks made out to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to the following address. They should include in the check's memo line or in an accompanying note that the gift is to support Accessibility Programs in honor of Charles K. Steiner.
Development Department
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
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