STATESMAN JOURNAL (SALEM, OREGON) -- Thomas Jefferson’s underwear, artifacts looted during the Iraq War, the “Singing Cowboy’ Gene Autry’s art collection and FBI undercover operations. Lynne Richardson, Historic Deepwood Estate’s new executive director, has worked with all of them during her expansive career.
The desire to move closer to family living in Salem led her to the position at Deepwood last fall.
She wanted to be a professor — think Indiana Jones — until someone suggested a career in museum management. After a yearlong position at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., she attended San Francisco State University for a Master’s in Museum Studies focused on collections management. In 1993, Richardson moved to Los Angeles to be the collections manager at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Griffith Park. The museum was founded in 1988 and building its collection. Richardson said she processed 1,000 new items per year.