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The J. Paul Getty Museum just announced that its director, Deborah Gribbon, who is also Vice President of the Getty Trust, will resign from both posts on October 31. It does not appear to be an amicable split up on the hill. The Getty release quotes from her letter to CEO Barry Munitz bringing some underlying tensions to the surface:
"I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to contribute to this remarkable institution and to shape its growth, to have worked with my colleagues in the Trust and in the other Getty programs, and to have led an exceptionally talented and committed staff....While we share pride in these accomplishments, it has become increasingly clear that we differ on a number of critical issues. After much reflection, I think it best to resign rather than let these differences distract the Getty's leaders from their critical task of defining goals and priorities for the future. I leave the Getty believing as passionately as ever that museums best serve the public by collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting works of art of the highest quality – works with the power to inspire and educate us. J. Paul Getty left a great legacy to the people of Los Angeles and to the world and the Getty has extraordinary potential. I remain optimistic that this potential will be realized."
Munitz owns the release and gets in the last word:
"Everyone at the Getty greatly appreciates what Deborah has done for the Museum, especially the strengthening of the collection and of the educational function, which have been such high priorities for both of us all of these years....But the Trustees have emphasized for some time that the Getty must also support conservation, scholarship and philanthropic service. The Board and I wish Deborah the very best in whatever responsibilities she chooses to assume in the future..."
William Griswold, the museum's Associate Director for Collections, will become Acting Director and Chief Curator. Now the spin. Gribbon came to the Getty under the previous director, John Walsh, and was apparently the last of the senior leaders who conceived and built Getty Center. According to a source, "the art world has been buzzing for over a year about the increasingly toxic" working environment up on the Brentwood hill and the departures of long-time staff. Writes the source: "It's gotten to the point where senior staff don't have any time to do serious work — it's now all about internal politics and palace intrigue."