Tom Campbell, the Met’s Director Designate
I love the fact that Tom Campbell, named today to be the Metropolitan Museum’s ninth director, is a respected scholar who specialized an arcane field, tapestries, presented them in an erudite manner, and created exhibitions that became blockbusters for all the right reasons.
But I worry about his lack of managerial and financial creds. The only thing he’s administered is the Met’s Antonio Ratti Textile Center—not exactly the strongest preparation for running a dauntingly complex and expensive operation like the Met. And while the others in the Met’s final four had relatively broad areas of art under their supervision, Campbell’s bailiwick is relatively narrow.
He meets the press tomorrow, after which I’ll undoubtedly have more to say.