Kim Sajet, who has led the National Portrait Gallery from Smithsonian (NPG) for more than ten years, resigned from her director, weeks after President Donald Trump claimed that he was firing her because he was a “very part -time person” and a “strong advocate of Dei”.
The departure of Sajet was first announced in an internal memo that Secretary Stel sent to Smithsonian Staff, shared with Hyperallergic. She will be replaced by Kevin GoverUnder Secretary for Museums and Culture at the Smithsonian, which previously led the National Museum of the American Indian.
“This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one,” said Sajet in the memo. “From the very beginning, my leading principle was to put the museum first. Today I believe that stepping is the best way to serve the institution that I have so deep in my heart.”
Sajet’s position seemed safe after the Smithsonian had issued a statement on Monday 9 June, so that the only secretary Lonnie Bunch was clarified“ With advice from the Council of Regents, personnel changes can make to maintain the ‘non -party -related status’ of the institution. (Vice President JD Vance and conservative Supreme Court Justice John Roberts serve on the board). According to reports, Sajet still showed up to work, even after Trump announced her end about the truth of the truth.
In the StaffMemo, Bunch Sajet praised for the provision of ‘permanent contributions to the institution’, including the supervision of the first dance company of the museum in Residence; Establishing the portrait of a nation prize, which ‘extraordinary individuals who have made transforming contributions’ Eerde, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and tennis star Serena Williams with their parable in a special exhibition; and hosting the Portrait Podcast.
“She put the needs of the institution above her own. And for that we thank her,” Bunch wrote about Sajet.
Sajet’s resignation comes months after Trump one executive order That would eliminate “incorrect, division or anti-American ideology” and “race-oriented ideology” of the Smithsonian Institution. Last month, 71 Democrats called for an investigation into the possible consequences of the executive order, which they claimed to endanger the independence of the institution. The Smithsonian is not a federal agency such as the National Endowment for the Arts. It is a separate “trust instrumentality” of the United States, which receives approximately 62% of his financing by congress credits.
In an interview with the Washington Post In 2015, during her early term of office, Sajet said she was trying to make the museum more inclusive with initiatives that Spanish took in the communication of the institution and enlarges the width of portrait subjects in the collection.
“Together we worked to tell a fuller, more American story – a story that promotes connection, reflection and understanding,” Sajet said in her Farewell declaration.
Hyperallergic has contacted Sajet for comment.
