Some come with free luxury accommodation, first class travel, or a social club allowance, as long as it’s work related. Many come with deferred compensation and other benefits that can push annual earnings in excess of $1 million. The challenges that arts nonprofits have faced, especially since the pandemic, have made the task of managing one increasingly complex. These difficulties have also led to greater scrutiny of wages and expenses, and many arts executives have cut their salaries during the pandemic. So what are the leaders of some of the most prominent art institutions in the country doing?
Here’s a look at their salaries and benefits, as culled from their most recent tax returns.
Museum of Modern Art
the boss compensation: $2 million
Reported perks include: The manager was given health club dues and a luxury rent-free apartment in the tower above the museum.
Total Enterprise Spending: $248 million
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
CEO compensation: $1.9 million
Reported perks include: The CEO received a housing allowance.
Total Enterprise Spending: $98 million
Metropolitan Opera
General Manager Compensation: $1.8 million
Reported privileges Included: The general manager got a car and driver, a life insurance policy and some first class travel if it was work related.
Total Enterprise Spending: 315 million dollars
New York Philharmonic
chief executive officer compensation: $1.6 million
Total Enterprise Spending: $74 million
Solomon R. Foundation. Guggenheim
the boss compensation: $1.6 million
Total Enterprise Spending: $62 million
American Museum of Natural History
President compensation: $1.6 million
Reported privileges Included: The president was given free housing in a luxury apartment owned by the museum and life insurance premiums. (The figures hold back the museum’s 2021 return because the 2022 submission, which showed its late president, Ellen Vetter, received a $11.9 million package, was anomalous in that the package included $10.7 million in deferred retirement income earned over 28 years.)
Total Enterprise Spending: $189 million
Carnegie Hall
Technical Executive Director compensation: $1.6 million
Reported privileges Included: The technical director got a free apartment for 10 months a year and took a first-class trip to a work event with a companion.
Total Enterprise Spending: $101 million
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
the boss compensation: $1.5 million
Reported perks include: The principal received housing allowance and dues for a social club used for commercial purposes.
Total Enterprise Spending: $124 million
Lincoln Center
chief executive officer compensation: $1.5 million
Total Enterprise Spending: $130 million
Metropolitan Museum of Art
the boss compensation: $1.4 million
Reported privileges Included: The principal received a housing allowance.
Total Enterprise Spending: $419 million
public theatre
Technical Director compensation: $1.1 million
Reported privileges Included: The head coach has received payment for life insurance coverage and seat upgrades are allowed on overnight business trips of six hours or more.
Total Enterprise Spending: $63 million
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
the boss compensation: $1.1 million
Reported perks include: The director received a $50,000 housing allowance, small travel expenses for his companion, and $14,000 in unspecified attorneys’ fees.
Total Enterprise Spending: $134 million
Perelman Center for the Performing Arts at the World Trade Center in New York
Technical Director compensation: $1.1 million
Reported perks include: The technical director received a housing allowance.
Total Enterprise Spending: $27 million
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
the boss compensation: $1.1 million
Total Enterprise Spending: $85 million
J Paul Getty Museum
the boss compensation: $1.1 million
Total Enterprise Spending: $164 million
Whitney Museum of American Art
the boss compensation: $1 million
Reported perks include: The principal received a housing allowance.
Total Enterprise Spending: $77 million
The Art Institute of Chicago
Head of the museum compensation: $972,000
Reported perks include: For the head of the museum, some first-class related commercial excursions are permitted and club fees are reimbursed to the extent that they are used for museum business.
Total Enterprise Spending: 300 million dollars
Frick Group
CEO compensation: $883,000
Reported perks include: The manager receives a housing allowance and his wife’s travel expenses on business trips are reimbursed.
Total Enterprise Spending: $24 million
Brooklyn Museum
the boss compensation: $816,000
Total Enterprise Spending: $55 million
Smithsonian Institution
secretary compensation: $810,000
Total Enterprise Spending: $1.5 billion
Philadelphia Museum of Art
CEO compensation: $796,000
Total Enterprise Spending: $76 million
Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles
the boss compensation: $780,000
Reported perks include: The manager was given a housing allowance and some first class travel was allowed when it came to work.
Total Enterprise Spending: $21 million
The Field Museum of Natural History
chief executive officer compensation: $778,000
Reported perks include: The President and CEO has received payments for social club dues used in museum business and travel benefits for a spouse who is also a museum volunteer.
Total Enterprise Spending: $73 million
shed
Technical Director – Chief Executive Officer compensation: $687,000
Reported perks include: The technical director received a housing allowance.
Total Enterprise Spending: 38 million dollars
Dallas Museum of Art
Executives compensation: $661,000
Reported perks include: The CEO received a housing allowance.
Total Enterprise Spending: 31 million dollars
Park Avenue Armory
Chief-Director compensation: $624,000
Total Enterprise Spending: $28 million
Denver Museum of Art
the boss compensation: $599,000
Reported perks include: The manager was compensated for the health club membership.
Total Enterprise Spending: $50 million
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Technical Director compensation: $567,000
Total Enterprise Spending: $45 million
Perez Museum of Art Miami
Museum director compensation: $548,000
Total Enterprise Spending: $18 million
methodology: This list tracks the total compensation earned by the top executives of several of America’s largest cultural organizations as reported on their most recent publicly available federal tax returns. For most organizations, the returns cover the fiscal year ending in June 2022, but some cover 12-month periods earlier or later. In many cases, the compensation listed is for a CEO who has since left the organization. In all cases, numbers have been rounded. Organizations without liens listed did not report any liens on their tax returns.
Your federal tax return records total compensation as the sum of all earnings, including salary, any bonuses, housing allowances, or other benefits, and any deferred compensation or retirement.
For the Perelman Center, total expenditures were taken from its 2023 operating budget because it has not yet begun full operations during the period covered by its most recent federal tax return. The compensation figure reflects the technical director’s earnings for the past year (2022). For the Getty Museum, total expenditures are taken from the annual financial statement of the J. Paul Getty Trust, the museum’s parent corporation. The Brooklyn Museum said its compensation package was inflated by the inclusion of back pay, which was cut during the pandemic.
Future teen idol. Typical social media ninja. Alcohol buff. Explorer. Creator. Beer advocate.”