A missive landed in the email boxes of members of the Association of Art Museum Directors last Monday that came as a complete surprise to some, I’m told, and not unexpected at all to others: In it, Janet Landay, the executive director, announced her resignation.

Landay (left) took the job only in February 2009, so something clearly went wrong. Personality clashes? Mismatch of skills to the job? Differences of opinion on policy or strategy or definition of the job? 

No one is talking on the record, but the answer that I’ve gleaned from a couple of background sources seems to be all of the above. Some members feel the organization should be changing faster than it is, and they want a more dynamic person in charge.  

You can tell the group wants to let this moment pass fast. Last Monday, AAMD President Kaywin Feldman, the director of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, began her February Message by noting Landay’s departure and her role in overseeing the development of a strategic plan, along with an implementation plan. She said that Landay was leaving “to pursue new challenges.” Thanks and best wishes, she added, and that was that. On to other things.

I’ve often said that AAMD is punching below its weight (here, here and here, to cite a few), but I’m pretty sure that my disappointments about the group (lack of openness, failure to grapple with some important issues, like pushing members toward financial stability with guidelines for endowments, and more advocacy for art, not just audience-drawing activities) are not the same as members’ disappointments.

But groups like AAMD inherently have a structural problem — who’s in charge, the ED or the president, who heads a museum? Who speaks for the group? Must they speak pablum, to make sure no member disagrees?

The AAMD board, I understand, has not yet appointed a search committee or engaged a search firm. I hope they discuss these ideas, and make real decisions about the kind of person they want, even if it means redefining the job.

Landay, meanwhile, will remain “Consulting Director” until May 1. Christine Agnanos, deputy director, has been named Interim Director, and the board — one member told me — will take a larger role.

 

It’s time to go shopping at Nordstrom. Why? Again, the department store chain is riding to the rescue of the Seattle Art Museum.

To recap: SAM was a big victim of the 2008 economic tsunami, because its new downtown building, finished in 2006, contained eight floors of office space (of 16) meant to be rented. Originally, SAM had leased them to Washington Mutual, whose 42-story headquarters building adjoined the museum’s tower. But when WaMu collapsed into the arms of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in 2008, there was no longer a need for the space.

Chase gave SAM $10 million in return for backing out of the deal, Nordstrom leased six of the floors, and SAM also got a lifeline last fall when the Gates Foundation gave $5.5 million. But the museum still said it had to borrow $10 million from its endowment to help pay off the bonds it floated to pay for the expansion.

Now that $10 figure has been whittled down to $7 million. According to the Seattle Times, Nordstrom has agreed to lease the remaining two floors — one now, and one in 2014.

Thank you, Nordstrom.

In general, I oppose borrowing from endowments, though sometimes extenuating circumstances demand it. I understand that, as long as the money is paid back. From what I hear, SAM is working hard to close the gap.

As we all know, a revolution is not a dinner party and truth is the first casualty of war.

Both are reasons that make writing about events in Egypt difficult. Yesterday, news emerged that Zaha Hawass had resigned as minister of antiquities, and he confirmed it to The New York Times, among others.

On the other hand, as a commenter on yesterday’s post about the resignation pointed out, CNN International has a story today, posted shortly after 9 a.m. GMT, which says he had not resigned but “will if asked by new Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.”

Well, Hawass has always been a complicated, contradictory character, and even if he is out-of-power in Egypt, we’ll be hearing more about him. And from him.

For one thing, he has many enemies, and some are eager to tell their stories about him. Some one has been talking to the website Talking Pyramids, which has been following Hawass’s moves extensively, and today it has a long article, which it describes thusly:

More evidence of internal corruption has come to light in the past few weeks concerning the gift shop and Dr Zahi Hawass’ involvement. Simply put, the opening of the Museum’s new gift shop on the 15th of December last year is in violation of a court verdict.

It is, I warn you, a bit of a tangled tale — and not a short one. It concerns Hawass’s attempts to change the franchise for the bookstore beside the Egyptian Museum leased by Farid Atiya to a gift store operated by the American University in Cairo Press. Visitors to the museum now exit through that gift store.

Despite a court order against the switch, Hawass apparently made it happen. Why? Talking Pyramids has substantiated its story with court documents. Here’s a link to the post.

Of course, there are two sides to every story and we haven’t heard Hawass’s side.

The point, to choose another old maxim, is that fish smells from the head. If Hawass was corrupt, there probably was much more going on underneath him than we know about now.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of The New York Times.

With the resignation of Zahi Hawass, which I broke the news of here this morning, a lot of dirt is going to come out — I am hearing many more rumblings about theft by him and professors at the American University of Cairo. [Allegations against the latter are contradicted in two comments below.] I can not attempt to confirm them, given my day job, but await reports from those closer to the situation.

In the meantime, I have obtained a new list of missing items from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It comes from inside the museum, and passed to me through a short chain of reliable sources. I can not confirm it, but given the details, it seems credible enough to post here with those caveats. So, what follows is word for word from the source, including the spellings:

Here is a short description of the missing pieces (this is not yet announced officially).

A. Collection of Tutankhamun
      1. Trumpet

     2.  The two fans

B. From Yuya and Tuya collection
      1. The collection had 11 Ushaptis, 7 are missing, and 4 are still there. These 11 Ushaptis are registered as one unit. These lie in the Upper Floor Gallery 43, display cabinet # 13

C. Also in the Upper Floor Gallery 43 the display cabinet of the turquoise Hipo, everything disappeared except the turquoise Hipo.

D. Late Period, Upper floor room 12: 17 Ushapti figures are missing

E. Pantheons, Upper Floor, room 14
      1. Two drawers with their figures of Pantheons are missing
      2. Two cabinets one in the middle of the room and one on the side have been violated with many pieces missing.

      It is estimated that from this room only hundreds of pieces are missing, as you probably know these are small figures of gods and pantheons.

F. Department of Akhenaten, Ground Floor room 3 and gallery 13
      1. Thot and the scribe (This is a very famous statue, 6.8 cm high)
      2. Bust of Nefertity (7 cm high)
      3. Bust of Tuya mother of Nefertity.

An unconfirmed report from Egypt, in Arabic, says that Zahi Hawass has resigned. Can anyone translate? Link here. It comes from an Egyptologist in Germany who speaks Arabic. (Rough translation is here.)

Reports in English say the government has resigned, including Hawass, and that he said he “will not return to his position as minister even in the new government.”

Bloomberg reports that the Prime Minister has resigned.

UPDATE: The New York Times has now confirmed his resignation:

Reached by telephone, Mr. Hawass said he was happy that he had made the “right decision” in resigning and lashed out at colleagues who have criticized him, including one who has accused him of smuggling antiquities.

A good summary of why in my previous post.

More as I learn more.