Charles Saumarez Smith
News broke yesterday that the director of London's National Gallery, Charles Saumarez Smith, is leaving the museum to become chief executive and secretary of the Royal Academy. This announcement comes just weeks after the Sunday Times reported on a power struggle between Saumarez Smith and Peter Scott, chairman of the board of trustees of the National Gallery, who have had a difficult relationship since Saumarez Smith became director in 2002. While Scott apparently doubted Saumarez Smith's abilities to run the museum, the trustees expressed their full support of Saumarez Smith and called for Scott to resign as chairman. Until yesterday the matter remained unresolved - now, however, with the resignation of Saumarez Smith - which, according to sources at the National Gallery, has nothing to do with this recent fracas - Scott's problems have shifted to finding a replacement for Saumarez Smith.
Whilst criticisms have been made that Saumarez Smith was too populist in the way he ran the National Gallery - Jonathan Jones in his online Guardian blog made a scathing comment that during his time as director 'Saumarez Smith did what he does best - he opened much better restaurants and cafes' - he was responsible for increasing visitor numbers with a run of 'blockbuster' shows, including the recent Velasquez exhibition.
Saumarez Smith will take up his new position at the Royal Academy in September, whose highly regarded exhibitions secretary Norman Rosenthal is not unfamiliar with the kind of power struggle Saumarez Smith was at the centre of at the National Gallery - in 2004 the RA's chief executive, Lawton Fitt, an American investment banker, stepped down after publicly falling out with Rosenthal and losing the confidence of the Academicians. Rosenthal is largely responsible for the Royal Academy's programme, a task that is particularly onerous given that the RA has no permanent collection.
Saumarez Smith, whose appointment at the RA has been approved by the Queen, said in a statement issued by the Royal Academy, 'After 13 years running two major national galleries, I am looking forward to working closely with the President and the Council of the Royal Academy, as well as with the community of contemporary artists, architects and sculptors which the Royal Academicians represent.' A statement from the National Gallery said: "The Chairman and Trustees are sorry indeed to see the departure of Charles Saumarez Smith to the Royal Academy. He will be a great loss to the National Gallery. He has enjoyed nearly five years of remarkable achievement as our Director.'
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