After an eight-year tenure as the director of New York’s Metropolitan Museum, Thomas H. Campbell has resigned, the Guardian reports. His decision was made following pressure over the museum’s finances (last April, a deficit of $40 million was recorded) and the disillusionment of trustees and colleagues with his leadership of the institution. The museum’s chair Daniel Brodksy has said they will not be looking to fill the role immediately, but will take time to deliberate the matter of leadership. Although the museum has enjoyed record visitor numbers during Campbell’s tenure, his failure to complete plans to build a new modern and contemporary art wing, the $40m deficit in budget and last year’s ‘recommended’ $25 entry-fee have led to public and institutional criticism.
In a letter on Tuesday, Campbell wrote: ‘I have decided to step down from my role as Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in order to pursue the next phase of my career’.
1 March 2017
