In March, Feldman, director and president of the Minneapolis museum, will succeed Earl A. Powell III, who has been the National Gallery’s director since 1992. He announced in November 2017 that he would step down in 2019.
“The National Gallery of Art is the nation’s art museum,” Feldman said in a telephone interview, adding she was “excited to get started.”
In January the National Gallery canceled an exhibition of work by Chuck Close because of accusations of sexual misconduct against the artist. Feldman said, “I wasn’t privy to the conversations, but I trust their decision was in the best interest of the National Gallery and the artist.”
At the helm of the Minneapolis Institute since 2008, Feldman expanded the museum’s collection and is said to have doubled attendance there. She has also served as president of the Association of Art Museum Directors and as chairwoman of the American Alliance of Museums.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.