Cnn
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The director of the National Portrait Gallery resigned from her post, according to a note sent to Smithsonian employees and obtained by CNN.
Kim’s departure from the gallery comes just two weeks after President Donald Trump called for his job to be dismissed in a Post on social truthAffirming that she was “very partisan” and a supporter of the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that her administration worked to end.
The secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch, wrote in the Memo that herjo moved on Friday, writing that she had directed the gallery “with passion and creativity for 12 years”. THE New York Times first noted the resignation of itsjet.
“Throughout her mandate, she has redesigned and reshaped the impact and the narration of the portrait,” said Bunch. Hisjet was the first woman to play in the role.
The National Portrait Gallery De Washington, DC, is part of the Smithsonian Institution, which is the largest complex of world museums, including 21 museums and the national zoo.
Earlier this week, the Smithsonian published a statement emphasizing his “non -partisan stature” and saying that “all staff decisions” are made by his secretary.
The institution added that its board of directors “is committed to ensuring that the Smithsonian is a leaflet of scholarships without political or partisan influence”.
Trump sought to influence cultural and artistic institutions, including the Smithsonian. In March, he signed a Executive decree putting the vice-president JD Vance Responsible for stopping public spending on “exhibitions or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans according to race or promote programs or ideologies incompatible with federal law and policy”. Vance sits on the Council of Regents of the Institution because of its role as vice-president.
“It was not an easy decision, but I think it’s the right one,” said hisjet in a statement included in the Bunch Memo, who did not mention Trump.
“From the start, my principal principle was to put the museum first. Today, I believe that the gap is the best way to serve the institution that I hold so deep in my heart, ”she added.
Bunch wrote that the Under-Secretary of Museums and Culture, Kevin Gover, will take over as an acting director of the gallery.