The Next Director of the Metropolitan Museum Is....

....a Met insider, but not the one most people were expecting. The Met announced today that Thomas P. Campbell, a curator at the museum since 1995, would fill the big shoes of Philippe de Montebello, who pronounced himself delighted by the choice. Campbell is a curator in the department of European sculpture and decorative arts who's best known as the organizer of the Met's two big tapestry shows, "Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence" in 2002 and last year's "Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor" —  two shows that were grand, especially the first, but on topics that most people would consider fairly specialized.

Many people assumed that if the Met went with one of its own to replace de Montebelllo the choice would be Gary Tinterow, the curator of 19th century, modern and contemporary art, a hybrid title he took on a few years ago that gave him a very wide ranging portfolio within the museum. If nothing else, the choice of Campbell is a way of saying that the Met's first commitment is to pre-Modern art. There's another museum just down Fifth Avenue that can handle the 20th century.

He takes the job January 1. More to come, no doubt.