Sotheby’s is cutting ties with longtime CEO Bill Ruprecht, who has agreed to step down from his post in exchange for a $4 million severance package (see “Say Goodbye to the Rug Guy, Sotheby’s CEO William Ruprecht Pushed Out” and “Outgoing Sotheby’s CEO Bill Ruprecht Gets $4 Million Severance“).

Steven P. Murphy will resign as the CEO of Christie’s at the end of the year. His successor will be Patricia Barbizet, who has been with the auction house since 1989 and will continue to serve as its chairman (see “Steven Murphy Stepping Down as Chief Executive Officer of Christie’s“).

The foundering New Republic magazine has lost its art critic of 20 years, Jed Perl, who is just the latest staff member to have resigned over differences with owner Chris Hughes (see “Art Critic Jed Perl Quits the New Republic“).

New York’s Museum of Arts and Design has hired Elissa Auther, an associate professor of contemporary art and the director of the art history and museum studies program at the University of Colorado, as its first research curator, a position endowed by the Windgate Charitable Foundation.

The board of New York’s Public Art Fund is up two members: Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone and Vin Cipolla, the former chairman of the board at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art and the president of the Municipal Art Society in New York.

After six years on the board of trustees, documentary maker and writer Hannah Rothschild will become the first woman chair of London’s National Gallery. The term of current chair Mark Getty, oil tycoon J. Paul Getty’s grandson, ends in August of 2015 (see “First Woman Appointed to Chair London’s National Gallery“).

Carol Vogel with Adam Weinberg at the
Whitney Museum Whitney Biennial opening in 2012. Photo: Leandro Justen, courtesy Patrick McMullan

After over 30 years as the art critic for the New York Times, Carol Vogel has resigned, accepting a voluntary buyout (see “Veteran Arts Writer Carol Vogel Resigns from the New York Times“). She plans to pursue new endeavors, while continuing to write for the Times.

When New York’s planned Culture Shed opens on on the Hudson, its artistic director and chief executive will be Alex Poots, who will resign his posts of artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory and the biennial Manchester International Festival in England in September (see “Alex Poots to Lead New York’s Planned $360-million Culture Shed“)

Nancy Yao, formerly the executive director of the Yale-China Association, is the new director of the Museum of Chinese in America in New York.

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation has named Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum director of the library and archives Francine Snyder as its first senior archivist.

New York’s Museum of Modern Art is losing its department of photography curator Eva Respini to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, where she has been appointed chief curator.

Audrey Rose Smith, the former communications assistant at David Nolan Gallery, has joined the Armory Show as its new communications manager, succeeding Allison Rodman, who departed in June to join the Museum of Modern Art P.S. 1.

Brian Boucher.

artnet News welcomes Brian Boucher, the web editor for Art in America and a ten-year veteran of the magazine, as a senior writer and news reporter (see “Art Critic and Journalist Brian Boucher Joins artnet News“). Changes are afoot at the 101-year-old A.i.A., where several key staff members have departed since the summer. Faye Hirsch stepped down from her position as editor-at-large to a contributing role when her teaching position at SUNY Purchase became full-time, and assistant editor Matthew Shen Goodman resigned. Long-time senior editor Cathy Lebowitz has since taken over the at-large role, with art critic Brian Droitcour and former Art Forum editor Kyle Bentley, who has served as a freelance editor for A.i.A. for the past five years, joining the team as associate editors. Additionally, editorial assistant Ellen Brooks, with the magazine since February, left to pursue graduate studies in art, and was succeeded by Julia Wolkoff, a former intern at the publication.

At the upcoming Venice Biennale, curator and critic Martí Manen will curate the Spanish Pavilion, entitled “Los Sujetos” and featuring Francesc Ruiz, Pepo Salazar, and the collective Cabello/Carceller (see “Details of the Spanish Pavilion in Venice (Finally) Announced“).

When Steven Koblik retires as president of the Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens in San Marino in July 2015 after a nearly-14 year tenure, he will be succeeded by literary biographer Laura Skandera Trombley, the newly-renovated institution’s first-ever female head (see “LA’s Huntington Museum Expands American Art Galleries“).

The new director of the Columbus Museum in Georgia will be Marianne Richter, director of the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana, since 2011. Current museum head Tom Butler, is retiring after 20 years on the job.

Juan Andrés Gaitán, who most recently curated the eighth Berlin Biennale, starts next month as the director of the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City. His appointment follows the departure of Carmen Cuenca Carrara, who had held the post since 2011.

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