The director of Mexico City’s Museo Nacional de Arte, Agustín Arteaga, is bound for Dallas, Texas, where he will head up the Dallas Museum of Art. He replaces Maxwell Anderson, who left the post abruptly in September, after less than three years in the job, to direct New York’s New Cities Foundation. Arteaga will start his new job on September 1.

“I am honored to have been selected to serve as the next Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art,” said Arteaga in the museum’s announcement. “The DMA is a leader in the museum field for the ways it has galvanized community engagement in the arts.”

Before assuming the directorship of the Museo Nacional, Arteaga served as director of Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte de Ponce. He was founding director of the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) Fundación Costantini, which focuses on contemporary art, and director and chief curator of the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

At the Museo Nacional, he oversaw the acquisition of works by artists including Diego Rivera, Gabriel Orozco, and Abraham Cruzvillegas. Attendance increased by some 30 percent during his tenure. At the Museo de Arte de Ponce, he spearheaded a 45,000-square-foot new building in addition to overseeing a renovation of the existing structure.

The Dallas Museum of Art. Courtesy of the museum.

“Agustín is a forward-thinking and strategic director with an excellent track record of leading museums on a global level and attracting new audiences and support through innovative, collection-based programs,” said Catherine Marcus Rose, President of the board of trustees. “He brings an international perspective to the DMA, having spearheaded partnerships with major institutions around the world throughout his 30-year career.”

Opened in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art boasts an encyclopedic collection of some 23,000 works and receives some 650,000 visitors a year. It’s one of the United States’ 10 largest museums.