Immigration Law

IMMIGRANT OF THE DAY: THOMAS P. CAMPBELL - MUSEUM DIRECTOR

By Greg Siskind

British-born Thomas P. Campbell (he's the one on the left in the picture) made the news yesterday when he was named as the new director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world's premiere art museums. Campbell has worked his way up at the ladder at the Met for the last 13 years starting as an Assistant Curator, then Associate Curator, then Curator and now the top executive staff member position.

James R. Houghton, Chairman of the Met's Board of Trustees had this to say about Campbell:

As we move forward in this new millennium, and into a new era for this great institution, it is with the highest level of enthusiasm that I announce the election today by the Board of Trustees of Tom Campbell as the ninth Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is a distinguished art historian and outstanding curator, who is an ardent advocate for scholarship, connoisseurship, and the highest museum standards, as well as a solid manager and diplomat accustomed to preparing all facets of major exhibitions, from securing loans internationally to writing major catalogues and participating in all of the related administrative aspects of these projects. Tom's leadership qualities will be apparent to all, as will his many other great attributes, perhaps the most evident of which is his great passion for art, the very raison d'être of the Museum. Respected universally in his field and by his colleagues at the Met, he is equally respectful and at ease with the global constituencies of this encyclopedic museum, its friends and supporters in New York, and its large, diverse, and talented staff. We are delighted that he will take over the reins of the directorship from Philippe de Montebello, who has led the institution brilliantly for the past 31 years and who leaves it as, quite simply, the greatest art museum in the world.

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on September 11, 2008 (boomark / email).