Domit Family Papers
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Biographical/Historical Note
Moussa Domit was born May 24, 1932, in Mazraat al Toufah in Zgharta, Lebanon to Majed Moussa Domit and Jamili Yousef (Khoury) Jreige. His grandparents had spent time in Pennsylvania, and both his father, Majed and his aunt, Margaret Domit (called Aunt Peggy), were born in the United States. In 1953, Moussa immigrated to Columbus, Ohio, to complete his high school education. He then returned to Lebanon where he met Yvette Baini. Yvette was born in French Senegal, West Africa. Her parents returned to Lebanon when she was a child, and she attended a French school in Tripoli.
Moussa Domit and Yvette Baini married on February 11, 1960, and the following year moved to Columbus so that Moussa could attend college. Moussa earned a BA in History of Art at Ohio State University in 1962 and an MA in Art History at Southern Connecticut State College in 1967. They became American citizens in the same year. During this period, the couple had four children, Maggie, Majed, Mark, and Matthew.
Domit conducted postgraduate work at Yale University before serving as Associate Director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., from 1968 to 1970, and as Curator at the National Gallery of Art from 1970 and 1972. In 1972, Moussa became Director of the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina, a position he held until 1981. In this position, Domit developed the museum's collection, providing exhibit space for international and multicultural artists and historic art pieces. He led the campaign to move the museum away from its original location in downtown Raleigh to a new facility on Blue Ridge Road. In 1981, the Domit family left Raleigh for Memphis, where Moussa took a position as Director of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens before moving to the Appleton Art Museum in Ocala, Florida, in 1986.
Towards the end of his life, Domit spent time in Lebanon, where he worked to restore his family’s summer home. Moussa Domit passed away in 2005.
Scope/Content Note
The Domit Family Papers contains documents and articles related to Moussa Domit's career in the art field, family photographs, and early letters from Domit's time in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, the collection contains genealogical information through family trees and an oral history. The collection also includes a diary and an autobiographical narrative written by Maron Domit Barkett, a great-uncle of Moussa Domit.
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Collection Tree
This collection is a part of a larger collection that has been divided into more specific collections.
