The National Gallery of Art has named Darren Walker its next president. He is the first African American to serve in the post. Walker has served on the board of trustees since 2019 and succeeds Mitchell P. Rales, who served as president for five years and will remain on the board.

“I look forward to working closely with Darren, who brings a strong vision and knowledge into the role at a vital and exciting time in the National Gallery’s trajectory,” said the museum’s director, Kaywin Feldman, in press materials. “We remain committed to our mission of serving the nation and appreciate the partnership of the trustees in realizing this important work.” The museum credits him with strengthening philanthropic support for the institution and deepening its commitment to sustainability.

Walker comes to the museum while serving as president of the Ford Foundation, a powerful international social justice nonprofit, for the last 11 years. During his tenure, he has established a Ford-funded acquisition program for the museum that was instrumental in acquiring the photography collection amassed by public school teacher and author Ross J. Kelbaugh, which includes nearly 250 19th- and early 20th-century photographs of and made by African Americans. The fund also supported the 2022 exhibition, “Afro-Atlantic Histories.”

The National Gallery of Art, west facade, in Washington D.C. Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images.

Before he went to the Ford Foundation, Walker was vice president at the 111-year-old Rockefeller Foundation, which names its mission as “promoting the well-being of humanity throughout the world,” and COO of Harlem’s Abyssinian Development Corporation, which provides support to aspiring homeowners and supports housing for vulnerable seniors in that Upper Manhattan neighborhood.

He also has plenty of experience serving on boards, including those of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the High Line, both in New York; Art Bridges, out of Arkansas, which promotes exhibitions of American Art; and Washington, D.C.’s Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies.

Feldman also acknowledged the contributions of Mitchell Rales, who is also the co-founder, with his wife Emily Wei Rales, of the private Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland.

“Mitch’s steadfast leadership as a trustee for 18 years, with the past five years as president, has been a model of service to the National Gallery and our nation,” she said. “He is a true ambassador for the civic and creative life of our society. Working in partnership with him has been invaluable. I, along with the entire board, am extremely grateful that he will remain an active member of the board.”