Shocker news from Seattle: Derrick Cartwright (pictured below), director there for just two years, has resigned. He leaves his post on June 30.
The press release says he feels the timing is right for a change in leadership. After just two years? Doesn’t make sense.
Here’s what he posted on the web, announcing the move.
I am eager for a break and for the chance to undertake my own projects. First, I aim to spend more time with my family and refresh my professional perspective. My passion for art history has been on hold while I focused on the most urgent administrative and financial challenges here. Now, I want to re-establish my personal connection with the artists, objects, and ideas that got me into museum work in the first place. My family and I have fallen in love with Seattle and we expect to remain here, so I hope to see you often.
Here’s what the board chair Charles Wright said in the release:
We are very appreciative of Derrick’s achievements and service to SAM. He is a great ambassador for the arts and we wish him the best in his future pursuits.Derrick will continue to make significant contributions to the art world.
In another odd move, the release said that Wright and board President, Maggie Walker will “provide executive oversight” while it searches for a new director. Why no interim director? These searches take time, often more than expected.
According to the Seattle Times, many board members, including Walker, were surprised by Cartwright’s resignation: “It was not something that everybody was wildly anticipating,” she said. “He sent us a letter of resignation over the weekend and here we are.”
UPDATE: As a friend points out, Jen Graves on the Stranger noted in reporting this story that Cartwright was asked to remain a consultant to the museum until September 2012. In reality, that likely means that he had a three-year contract, and the board had to buy him out. In other words, he didn’t really quit. He was pushed out.
So the mystery continues.
This leaves several top museums leaderless: Museum of Fine Arts-Houston, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Dallas Museum of Art, among them.