Jessica Morgan is appointed new Tate director
- maxwell museums
- Jul 25
- 4 min read
British curator Jessica Morgan has been appointed the new director of Tate.
Morgan — who has led the New York-based Dia Art Foundation since 2015 — succeeds Maria Balshaw who quit earlier this year after nine years leading the organisation.
It’s a return to Tate for Morgan who was previously a curator between 2002 and 2014. Her appointment was approved by the outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in one of his final acts in office.
Morgan, 57, will become the tenth Director in Tate’s history, taking up her new role — which is considered one of the most high-profile in the global art world — in January 2027.
In a statement, Tate said: “Under Morgan’s leadership Dia has become a more expansive and dynamic institution, from increasing free admission and undertaking capital projects across all of its sites, to bringing a broader range of artists and artworks into its collection and exhibition programme.”
What was not mentioned in the press release is the huge pay cut she’s likely taken with the new gig. At the Dia Foundation, Morgan was paid about $840,000 (£631,000) in 2024 according to tax filings. Yet, Tate’s accounts say Balshaw was paid about £222,000. The Times believe she will “be getting a package allowing her to undertake freelance work as well.”
Morgan picked from five-strong all-female shortlist
In an interview with the Financial Times to mark her appointment, Tate’s chair of trustees Roland Rudd said Morgan had secured the directorship “fairly and squarely” after a process featuring “some extremely strong candidates.”
The newspaper says these other contenders included Tate’s interim director Karin Hindsbo, and Laurence des Cars, former head of the Louvre who resigned earlier this year after the fallout from the crown jewel heist in 2025. The Times similarly reported that Morgan was “selected from a shortlist of five, all women, all working abroad.”
Commenting on her new role, Morgan said: “My time as a curator at Tate deeply informed my work in the last eleven years steering Dia Art Foundation, with artists and our public always at the centre of what we do.
"I look forward to this pivotal next stage at Tate, and most importantly, continuing and advancing the incredible work of Tate’s committed and talented team in the years to come.”
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She takes up the directorship at a tricky time for Tate, which manages four galleries across England: Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives.
Visitor numbers have not fully recovered from pre-pandemic levels, with a roughly 25% deficit compared to 2019. This is in stark contrast to other national museums such as the Natural History Museum which welcomed record numbers in 2025.
The finances have also recently been in trouble too, with the organisation running a deficit budget in recent years. This resulted in a 7% cut in the workforce in 2025. In the autumn, staff went on a week-long strike.
Tate Liverpool is due to reopen in 2027 after a £30m redevelopment. But the project has taken twice as long as first planned due to difficulties in fundraising.
But there have been some bright spots — including record-breaking pre-sales for this year’s Frida Kahlo exhibition, and a critical and commercial hit in the shape of Tracey Emin’s retrospective.
Reaction to Morgan's appointment
Reaction to her appointment has so far been positive. “Jessica’s appointment is absolutely ideal, both for Tate and for London,” art dealer Thaddeaus Ropac told news website ArtNet.
“The future looks bright with her at the helm,” artist Sir Steve McQueen said. McQueen launched an immersive exhibition at Dia’s site in Beacon in the Hudson Valley under Morgan’s directorship.
Art critics too have broadly welcomed the news. The Telegraph’s Chief Art Critic Alastair Sooke heaped praise on Morgan, calling her “an immaculate, inspiring curator who commands international respect, and, crucially, should win the confidence of artists, as well as patrons, donors and Tate’s staff.”
He added that “Tate should be grateful that it has an energetic incoming leader whose taste and judgment – as well as fundraising ability – it can trust.”
The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones was more cautious, but said he expected that “Morgan will bring that fresh eye we are promised, even if she looks like a safe pair of hands who might bring more of the same.”
Richard Morrison in the Times acknowledged that Morgan “was a key figure in building up” the collection at Tate Modern in its first decade. But he said it’s likely her fundraising skills that sealed the deal for her appointment.
“She lifted [the Dia’s] endowment from $40 million to $140 million in a decade. In New York she is said to lunch three or four times a week with donors and potential donors. The Tate will be hoping that she lunches widely and profitably in London as well.”
