What the gossips overlooked-but the search committee did not-are the two exceptional exhibitions of Renaissance and Baroque tapestries that he organised in 2002 and 2007. A surprise hit with both public and critics, the shows demonstrated Mr Campbell's considerable scholarly, diplomatic and administrative skills. In addition, supervising the museum's Antonio Ratti Textile Centre introduced him to curators from almost every department and increased his knowledge of the museum's immense holdings, which number more than 2m objects.

Thinking about his new role and all those treasures, Mr Campbell smiles and says, "I feel like a kid in a candy store." This is probably not a phrase the aristocratic Mr de Montebello would have uttered. Superficially, he and the boyish Mr Campbell could not be more different. Yet superficial is what their differences appear to be.

Mr de Montebello has been characterised as a connoisseur; a curator's director. He says that the choice of Mr Campbell as his successor "sends out a clear message that scholarship is more important than marketing". Mr Campbell is proud that, as he takes over, the Met has exhibitions on Babylonian trade routes, the Italian Renaissance, African textiles and 17th-century Chinese watercolours, all planned by his predecessor.

Both men prize scholarship, a global outlook and outreach, while keeping a respectful eye on the bottom line. Mr Campbell has inherited a well run, financially sound institution. Emily Rafferty, its president, is a gifted fund-raiser. The museum's last annual report values the endowment at $2.5 billion. Mr Campbell believes that the great encyclopedic museum he heads can be "a place of inspiration, almost of refuge and hope" in a difficult economic climate, but cuts will have to come. Some will not be unwelcome. In Mr Campbell's view fewer expensive loan shows will free up financial and creative resources for innovative displays of works from the permanent collection.

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