Edlavitch Lecture Series

Axel Rüger

Axel Rüger joined The Frick Collection as its new Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director on March 1, 2025. Mr. Rüger brings to the role over two decades of museum leadership and curatorial experience at esteemed international collections. Previously, he was Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where he steered the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, including a significant restructuring that steadied the institution. An accomplished fundraiser, he surpassed fundraising goals during his five-year tenure. He also oversaw the £23 million redevelopment of the Royal Academy Schools and curated the acclaimed exhibitions Souls Grown Deep Like the Rivers: Black Artists from the American South, in 2023, and a 2024 retrospective of the work of British artist Sir Michael Craig-Martin RA.

Mr. Rüger formerly served as director of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum and its sister institution, The Mesdag Collection, in The Hague, from April 2006 to April 2019. In these joint capacities, Mr. Rüger supervised a staff of 400 across both venues, grew their audiences by a third, implemented three strategic plans, and realized a rich program of exhibitions, notable acquisitions, and major research projects. From May 1999 to March 2006, Mr. Rüger was Curator of Dutch Paintings 1600–1800 at the National Gallery, London, where he joined the senior curatorial team responsible for the display, interpretation, and research of one of the largest collections within the National Gallery. He studied art history at the Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany; the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; and Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.