A PROMINENT AND INFLUENTIAL FIGURE in philanthropy and the arts, Darren Walker was elected president of the National Gallery of Art (NGA).

Walker has been a member of the museum’s board since 2019. The nine-member board governs the museum, appointing the executive director and executive officers, advising on policies such as acquisitions, and supporting the institution’s mission. The president regularly engages with the director collaborating on these goals and assisting with strategy and plans for its future. The Washington, D.C., museum announced the leadership news this morning and Walker is taking on the role immediately.

Walker is the president of the Ford Foundation in New York, an international social justice philanthropy and major funder of the arts and museums.

At the National Gallery of Art, Walker is succeeding Mitchell P. Rales, a philanthropist and art collector; co-founder and leader of businesses across biotech, diagnostics, life sciences, and manufacturing; and limited partner in the Washington Commanders, the National Football League team. Rales is also co-founder, with his wife Emily Rales, of Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Md. A member of the National Gallery’s board since 2006, Rales has served as president for the past five years.

“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. 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,” National Gallery of Art Director Kaywin Feldman said in a statement.

“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. We remain committed to our mission of serving the nation and appreciate the partnership of the trustees in realizing this important work.”

“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. We remain committed to our mission of serving the nation and appreciate the partnership of the trustees in realizing this important work.” — National Gallery of Art Director Kaywin Feldman

WALKER HAS BEEN AT THE HELM of the Ford Foundation since 2013. (In July, Walker said he plans to step down and depart the foundation by the end of 2025.) He was named president of the foundation after serving for three years as a vice president at Ford, overseeing grant programs for education, journalism, the arts, culture, and films. The second largest foundation in the United States, the Ford Foundation has an endowment of more than $16 billion. When he took over, Walker re-envisioned the foundation’s grant-making strategy with a core focus on addressing inequality in the political, economic, and cultural systems that shape society and our everyday lives. Key aspects of this work have been directed at the arts sector.

The Ford Foundation partnered with philanthropist Agnes Gund to establish the Art for Justice Fund (2017-23), providing grants for artists and arts advocacy organizations focused on ending mass incarceration. Walker helped organize a consortium of foundations to acquire the Johnson Publishing Archive on behalf of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and Getty Research Institute (GRI). The archive of 4 million prints and negatives from Ebony and Jet magazines documents African American life, news, and celebrity dating back to the 1940s.

Ford supports the Black Trustee Alliance (BTA) for Art Museums, whose mission is increase Black representation and leadership on museum boards. (Walker’s election as president of NGA can be counted among BTA’s wins.) The foundation has also partnered with the Mellon Foundation and others to invest in an initiative designed to diversify art museum leadership in terms of curators, conservators, educators and community engagement staff, and collections managers. The foundation has funded fellowships for Latinx artists and Latinx art curatorial positions at museums and supported disabled artists through its Disability Futures Fellowship program. Ford also supports artists protecting and expanding civic space around the world and the MoMA Scholars in Residence program at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

 


Installation view of Afro-Atlantic Histories, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2022. Shown, DANIEL LIND-RAMOS, “Figura de Poder,” 2016–2020 (foreground); DAVID HAMMONS, “African American Flag,” 1990 (above); and FAITH RINNGOLD, “Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima?,” 1983 (at left). | Courtesy National Gallery of Art

 

In addition, the foundation funds numerous museum exhibitions, including “Edges of Ailey,” which is currently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art; “The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and “Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams,” the traveling retrospective organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, Walker was a vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation and COO of Abyssinian Development Corporation in Harlem. He currently co-chairs New York City’s Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments, and Markers and serves on several other boards, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Art Bridges, the High Line, and the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE).

A lawyer with a background in international finance and community development and a record of innovation and collaboration in the philanthropy sector, Walker brings a wealth of experience and perspective to the role of NGA president.

The National Gallery of Art is among the museums that have benefitted from the Ford Foundation’s program support. Since joining NGA’s board, Walker launched an acquisition fund made possible by the Ford Foundation. The resource supported the “Afro-Atlantic Histories” exhibition (2022) and the acquisition in 2023 of the Ross J. Kelbaugh Collection, which includes 248 photographs of African Americans photographed by Black photographers from the 1840s to the early 20th century.

The announcement said Walker has also helped the National Gallery “expand its philanthropic support, strengthen its commitment to sustainability, and broaden its reach in the 21st century.” CT

 

IMAGE: Top of page, at left, Darren Walker. | Photo by Simon Leuthi

 

UPDATE (10/18/24): The description of the NGA president position was edited to reflect a distinction outlined in the museum’s bylaws. Walker is president of the National Gallery of Art, as opposed to president of the board of trustees. He remains a member of the board and like all NGA trustee positions, the president role is voluntary and unpaid. As president, Walker oversees the executive committee of the board and other board committees. David Rubenstein is continuing his service as chairman of the board of trustees, presiding over board meetings.

 

FIND MORE about Darren Walker on the Ford Foundation website

FIND MORE In 2020, when the National Gallery of Art and other museums organizing a Philip Guston retrospective postponed the exhibition out of concern that the artist’s Klan characters would offend visitors, in his role as trustee Darren Walker spoke on behalf of the museum defending the widely criticized decision in the New York Times

 

BOOKSHELF
“From Generosity to Justice: A New Gospel of Wealth” by Darren Walker was published last year. He is also wrote the foreword for “Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count” by Phil Buchanan. Published on the occasion of the U.S. presentation of the exhibition, the catalog “Afro-Atlantic Histories” features works dating from the 17th to 21st centuries by more than 200 artists from Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe. The U.S. version of the landmark museum show focuses on about 130 works of art. This expansive volume reflects the international presentation, including the wider selection of more than 400 works shown in Brazil where the exhibition originated. The Ford Foundation provided major support for the U.S. exhibition.

 

SUPPORT CULTURE TYPE
Do you enjoy and value Culture Type? Please consider supporting its ongoing production by making a donation. Culture Type is an independent editorial project that requires countless hours and expense to research, report, write, and produce. To help sustain it, make a one-time donation or sign up for a recurring monthly contribution. It only takes a minute. Happy Holidays and Many Thanks for Your Support.