Just a year ago, it was planning an ambitious expansion and touting record attendance. Now its director has been ousted amid rumors, scandal, and a recrd budjet shortfall.
![What Broke The Met?](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/3858/218659/58f6fbf0922be/What-Broke-The-Met.jpg)
ONE MONDAY LAST MONTH, Thomas P. Campbell, the departing director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, stooped silently over a burial suit of jade tiles threaded with gold, circa 100 B.C. In this private moment, he had his back to reporters gathering for a first look at the Met’s landmark China survey “Age of Empires.” A moment later, Ken Weine, the new communications chief, tapped him on the shoulder, and Campbell pivoted, summoned up his British charm, and shook my hand. At 54, sandy hair parted in the middle, looking like he’d just exchanged safari khakis for a headmaster’s suit, he wore a trace of the uncomplicated pride he might have felt if journalists weren’t just then dissecting his eight-year tenure and the snowballing crisis of confidence that had ended it just four weeks earlier.
Campbell pulled out his iPhone to show me a photo of an excavation at one of 85 far-flung Chinese sites where the show’s loaned treasures originated. “This is in Jiangsu province,” he said in a librarian’s murmur, “a deep ravine down into the earth.” Terra-cotta animals were still caked with mud, like unwashed newborns. “This was the moment when I realized — with the curators — that this would be an amazing exhibition.” Years later, when the Chinese culture minister visited, “he said that because America doesn’t have a department of culture, in some respects they regarded the Met as that department.”
A handler summoned Campbell to a podium for brief remarks. I asked if he’d be willing to sit down and talk about his legacy. “With pleasure, let me talk with Ken about this,” he said, retreating with Weine. “It’s a moment of transition.” He never granted the interview, and soon curtailed even such pro forma appearances.
This story is from the April 17–30, 2017 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 17–30, 2017 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![The Escape Artist](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/P5upT9bzq1725011632348/THE-ESCAPE-ARTIST.jpg)
The Escape Artist
PinkPantheress blew up anonymously on TikTok. Now, her Y2K dance-pop influences the masses.
![The Parasites of MALIBU](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/tm-150I7F1725011168143/THE-PARASITES-OF-MALIBU.jpg)
The Parasites of MALIBU
Anthony Flores and Anna Moore met Dr. Mark Sawusch at an ice-cream shop.
![THE INVITED](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/lm99QhHko1725010780819/THE-INVITED.jpg)
THE INVITED
WHEN YOU'RE A VIC-\"VERY IMPORTANT CLIENT\" -LUXURY BRANDS ANYTHING TO KEEP YOU HAPPY (AND SPENDING). WILL DO
![LEARNING THE ART OF SEDUCTION FROM THE KING OF HÖRNINESS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/eUwzavRwN1725010513902/LEARNING-THE-ART-OF-SEDUCTION-FROM-THE-KING-OF-HRNINESS.jpg)
LEARNING THE ART OF SEDUCTION FROM THE KING OF HÖRNINESS
There are two things that make women happy,” Usher Raymond IV tells me.
![Magic Mikey](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/ERM-yJ9_i1725010219178/MAGIC-MIKEY.jpg)
Magic Mikey
She gave up competitive horseback riding to pursue acting. Now, the rising star is getting awards buzz for her role as a determined stripper in Anora
!['Mommy, Can We Go to Paris?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/kK0j3xId71725010065701/MOMMY-CAN-WE-GO-TO-PARIS.jpg)
'Mommy, Can We Go to Paris?
You try explaining to my kid why he can't do the wildly expensive things some of his Brownstone Brooklyn classmates take for granted.
![Plus-Size Shopping in the Wild](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/WtnCpjJWk1725009942599/PLUSSIZE-SHOPPING-IN-THE-WILD.jpg)
Plus-Size Shopping in the Wild
Samyra Miller’s quest to find clothes at the mall that fit.
![Hungry for More](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/7p_DTvws51725009794467/HUNGRY-FOR-MORE.jpg)
Hungry for More
A decade of Chicken Shop Date behind her, Amelia Dimoldenberg is still holding out for the One.
![BIRTHDAY SUITS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1814793/pTPCIwPcM1725009232710/BIRTHDAY-SUITS.jpg)
BIRTHDAY SUITS
On the cusp of 50, CHLOË SEVIGNY is ready for a change.
![Art Fall Preview - World in Motion - An Alvin Ailey retrospective sets the tone for an array of eclectic offerings from the art world this fall.](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1809369/43xOx70Tu1724676248680/art-world-art-new-scene-56-Henrys-gallery-spaces-Chinatown-Laurie-Simmons-Richard-Tinkler-Whitney-Museum-Fort-Gansevoort-Gallery-art-showcases-undiscovered-artists-Yvonne-Wells-Kara-Walker-Simone-Leigh-Nick-Cave-New-York-museums-New-York-City-art-exhibitions-MoMA-Brooklyn-Museum.jpg)
Art Fall Preview - World in Motion - An Alvin Ailey retrospective sets the tone for an array of eclectic offerings from the art world this fall.
An Alvin Ailey retrospective sets the tone for an array of eclectic offerings from the art world this fall. A gust of fresh air is blowing through the art world. A brand-new outfit called Ruby/Dakota has opened on the supercool strip of East 2nd Street. A whole new scene has formed around 56 Henry's two gallery spaces in Chinatown, and solo shows there by Laurie Simmons and Richard Tinkler promise to scintillate. Just north of the Whitney, Fort Gansevoort Gallery regularly showcases undiscovered artists, including, in September, 84-year-old quilt-maker extraordinaire Yvonne Wells. A gaggle of established artists are also exhibiting-Kara Walker, Simone Leigh, Nick Cave, and the still under-known Denzil Forrester among them. And the museums will have their fair share of thrilling exhibitions, too: The Whitney will feature American national treasure Alvin Ailey, MoMA will peer deep into its own brilliant bellybutton in a show about the woman who helped make the museum, and the Brooklyn Museum will give us an enormous show of artists based in its borough.