Guggenheim boss quits after two decades

One of the most prestigious jobs on the international art scene has become vacant after Thomas Krens (right), controversial director of the Guggenheim, announced his resignation after almost 20 years. Under his guidance, the Guggenheim expanded from its famous Manhattan museum to become a global brand. His flagship project was the Bilbao Guggenheim, the titanium-clad building in northern Spain designed by Frank Gehry.

It is the second high-profile resignation in the art world in a month, after Norman Rosenthal, head of exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London, stepped down at the end of January, as reported here.

Krens, 61, will not be universally missed: as a graduate of the Yale school of management, he was a businessman, not an academic scholar. A show of Armani suits sponsored by Armani itself, and The Art of the Motorcycle, part paid for by BMW, did not go down well with purists. (Continued below)

He was also criticised for ignoring the jewel in the Guggenheim crown - the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed museum in Manhattan - at the expense of his worldly ambition. In 2005, Peter Lewis, the largest donor to the Solomon R Guggenheim foundation, resigned after accusing Krens of losing focus.

It didn't stop Krens thinking big. After the success of Bilbao, he went on to launch his biggest project yet - an Abu Dhabi Guggenheim, due to be completed in 2012 as part of the elaborate $27bn Saadiyat Island development.

Under the terms of his resignation, he will continue to take charge of the 320,000 sq ft Abu Dhabi project which will be "truly spectatular" according to the man himself. "Our objective is to make something completely new, the best museum of modern and contemporary art in the world."