2009-10-12

Salary cuts for one third of US museum directors

A survey of more than 60 major art museums in the US shows that the directors of more than one third have recently taken pay cuts, many of them substantial, and senior staff at most of those institutions have also had their compensation trimmed. The cuts range from salary reductions and forfeiture of bonuses to unpaid leave.

Even where there have not been massive layoffs, hiring freezes leave posts vacant and incentives induce early retirement. In the past year, New Yorks Museum of Modern Art has cut its staff from around 850 to 741 through a hiring freeze and natural attrition.

Pay cuts extend to curators and administrators who have had their salaries frozen, their hours reduced, or their employer contributions to insurance and retirement plans cut. But directors of large institutions are still among the highest paid in the culture sector, with packages ranging from low six figures to more than $1m per year.

Among the directors who have taken the largest cuts are those earning the biggest paycheques at the richest institutions. MoMA director Glenn Lowry, the highest paid chief executive of a US art museum, had his salary reduced 15% last year, but his total compensation still topped $1.32m, and will remain above $1m this year even after another 10% cut. Peter Marzio, the director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, took a voluntary compensation reduction in excess of 20%.

Complete article: http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Salary-cuts-for-one-third-of-US-museum-directors/19366