The resignation – some would say, forced resignation – of Thomas P. Campbell as director and CEO of the debt-ridden Metropolitan Museum of Art can only sadden those of us who favor this beloved institution and know its scholarly leader even casually.

Sadden but not surprised. When Campbell became director in 2008, I thought he was an exhilarating choice, because he was a curator and not a manager. And I thought he was an odd choice, because, well, he was a curator and not a manager. Those mixed feelings turned out to be prescient. ...

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