MoMA's Glenn Lowry Is Highest Paid Curator

The Museum of Modern Art’s director Glenn Lowry earned $1.32 million over the past year, but that’s down from the $1.95 million he took home in salary, bonus, and benefits the previous year. Lowry took a voluntary 10 percent pay reduction as he cut spending and froze hiring in response to the economic downturn. “I can’t think of a better museum director in the United States, or perhaps even the world,” said Eli Broad, the Los Angeles-based collector and MoMA trustee. However, not everyone is happy with the direction Lowry has taken the museum: Artist Frank Stella thinks MoMA has abandoned its focus on painting and sculpture, but still admires Lowry’s leadership. Lowry, who lives rent-free in the Museum Tower over MoMA, has balanced the museum’s budget every year since taking the helm in 1995 and has doubled the attendance over the past five years.