Guggenheim Foundation Loses Krens
Director to Remain as Adviser to Museum's New Abu Dhabi Location
Thomas Krens is stepping down as director of the Guggenheim Foundation and will coordinate the development of the museum's new branch in Abu Dhabi.
The Guggenheim Foundation's trustees announced on February 27, 2008 that Thomas Krens, 61, is leaving his post as its director as soon as a suitable replacement is found. Mr. Krens will continue to serve as a Senior Adviser for International Affairs and coordinate the organization's new 452,000-square-foot museum, designed by architect Frank Gehry (b. 1929), in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The sometimes controversial Mr. Krens is best known for the development of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's satellite branches in Bilboa, Spain; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Berlin, Germany. He's also remembered for his fiery confrontations with philanthropist Peter B. Lewis, the foundation's most prominent benefactor who resigned from the foundation's board in 2005. At that time, Mr. Lewis, the museum's greatest financial supporter, chided Krens for focusing on the institution's other American and European branches to the detriment of its landmark New York location. The Manhattan building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), has been without a director since Summer 2007. At that time, Lisa Dennison moved on to an executive position at Sotheby's auction house less than two years after she was promoted from deputy director and chief curator to director at the Guggenheim Museum.
During Mr. Krens' tenure, the museum's flagship Fifth Avenue location underwent an $80 million (US) interior restoration and expansion, completed in 1992. The signature building's current renovation, costing $29 million (US), is scheduled for completion this Summer.
