Darren Walker to Helm the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Former Ford Foundation president Darren Walker has been elected president of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.—effective immediately—the institution announced Tuesday.

Walker, who has been a board member of the National Gallery since 2019, is perhaps best known for his 11-year tenure at the helm of one of the nation’s largest and most influential philanthropies, the Ford Foundation. There, he shifted the institution’s focus towards inequality and oversaw the distribution of $7 billion in grant funding.

As a National Gallery trustee, Walker established and has continued to build an art acquisition fund dedicated to excellence and diversity through the Ford Foundation. The fund provided support for the exhibition “Afro-Atlantic Histories” in 2022 and facilitated the acquisition of the Ross J. Kelbaugh Collection of 19th- and early 20th-century American photographs in 2023.

Walker also serves on a number of boards, among them, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the High Line, Art Bridges, and the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies. He has received 17 honorary degrees and such awards as the Commander of the French Order of Arts and Letters and the Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II.

Prior to leading the Ford Foundation, Walker was vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation and COO of Harlem’s Abyssinian Development Corporation.

In his new role, Walker succeeds American businessman and art collector Mitchell P. Rales, who will remain an active trustee.

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

“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,” Feldman added.

Rales has served as a trustee of the National Gallery since 2006. During his five-year tenure as president, the National Gallery successfully completed its largest capital renewal project, including the East building skylight replacement. The museum also acquired the Corcoran Gallery of Art collection and wrapped a major fundraising campaign that bolstered acquisitions and resources for conservation and scholarship. 

The cofounders of Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland, Rales and his wife Emily Wei contributed financial gifts that contributed to initiatives such as the museum’s East building renovation in 2016. Additionally, the Glenstone Foundation supported the acquisition of such artworks as Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s Target (1992), Simone Leigh’s Sentinel (2022), and Katharina Fritsch’s Hahn/Cock (2013).