Marc Pachter's distinguished career at the Smithsonian spanned more than thirty-three years. In addition to being the National Portrait Gallery's director, he served as the museum’s chief historian and assistant director. Marc was the Smithsonian assistant secretary for external affairs, chair of the Smithsonian’s 150th anniversary celebration in 1996, and acting director of the National Museum of American History.
As director of the Portrait Gallery from 2000 to 2007, Marc led the reopening of the museum in 2006, following extensive renovations to its National Historic Landmark building. He oversaw the expansion of its America’s Presidents exhibition; established permanent galleries for portraits from the worlds of sports and entertainment; and famously secured a $20 million donation from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to acquire Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington, known as the “Lansdowne” portrait, for the permanent collection.
Marc also served as acting director of the National Museum of American History from 2001 to 2002, making him the first person to lead two Smithsonian museums at the same time. While there, he helped create the commemorative exhibition September 11: Bearing Witness to History, which opened on the second anniversary of the terrorist attack. Although Marc retired from the Smithsonian in 2007, he returned to serve as the interim director of the National Museum of American History from 2011 to 2012.
Marc's work for the Smithsonian encompassed television as well: he produced shows for international broadcast and distribution that included feature film opportunities with the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood and was a commentator for CBS’s Nightwatch, Voice of America, and C-SPAN. His numerous books include Abroad in America: Visitors to the New Nation, Champions of American Sport, Documentary History of the Supreme Court, Telling Lives: The Biographer’s Art, and A Gallery of Presidents. A frequent traveler, he lectured extensively throughout the United States and abroad.
