Thomas P. Campbell, Tapestry Expert

Kelly Crow’s take on the new director from the Wall Street Journal:

In reaching out to Mr. Campbell, the museum’s 12-member search committee is betting that his scholarly expertise and familiarity with the Met’s inner workings has equipped him to juggle the demands of one of the world’s top museums. The job — a mix of executive, lawyer and diplomat — entails producing around 30 exhibits a year and managing a staff of 2,600, a $201 million operating budget, and a $1 billion-plus capital campaign.

Carol Vogel’s version in the New York Times:

In selecting him, the Met seems to have opted for intellectual heft as well as continuity. Educated at Oxford and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, Mr. Campbell arrived at the museum in 1995 and built his reputation through much-praised catalogs that were both scholarly and sumptuous, and shows involving complex logistics and diplomacy. [ . . . ]

Asked whether he expected any ruffled feathers as a result of Mr. Campbell’s appointment, Mr. Houghton said: “Probably. This is a hell of a job.”

Yet when Mr. Campbell’s name surfaced recently, many of the Met’s seasoned curators started rooting for him. Respected among his peers as a scholar, he also happens to be well liked.

Met Curator to Be Museum’s Director (Wall Street Journal)

Met Chooses Tapestries Curator to Lead Museum (New York TImes)