
Instead of a straightforward transition out of one job into one other one more acquainted, Levine abruptly needed to manage two different pandemic realities and neighborhood responses. By the time he officially began in Toledo in May, the museum had already been shuttered for nearly two months and it was not clear when it may reopen. Essential staff—such as maintenance and safety workers—came in every day, as did Levine, but Zoom conferences replaced those lunches and cocktails. The halls had been empty when they should have been full of school tours. For the earlier 18 months, Levine had helmed the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida, and he was excited to return to Toledo, the place he had spent six years as the deputy director and curator of historical art. His fiancée and their 7-year-old son hadn’t been capable of join Levine in Florida, and he was …