Revolving Door: Guggenheim’s Director, Tom Krens, Steps Down

Just weeks ago that Tom Krens was hanging out with celebrities at Julian Schnabel‘s recent art opening. And while we’re sure he was pleasant, unassuming company, buried deep within his head was a secret he couldn’t let out. Or, rather, couldn’t let out until this week, as it’s just been announced that Krens, the Director of the Guggenheim Foundation, has chosen to give up his post and move on. Here’s a bit from the NY Times:

The move comes three years after Mr. Krens triumphed in a him-or-me showdown with the foundation’s biggest benefactor, the Cleveland philanthropist Peter B. Lewis. Mr. Lewis resigned after arguing that Mr. Krens was spending too much money and should focus more on the foundation’s New York flagship museum rather than on funneling resources into developing Guggenheim satellites around the world.

In a statement on Wednesday the foundation emphasized that Mr. Krens would remain at the foundation as a senior adviser for international affairs, overseeing the creation of a 452,000-square-foot museum in Abu Dhabi to be designed by Frank Gehry.

Though we read later that he’s also promised to stay on as Director of the Foundation until someone to replace him is hired. Probably not an easy thing to do, considering how difficult hiring has been in that business lately.

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