Kaywin Feldman, director and president of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), will become the first female director of The National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C.

The NGA announced that the board elected Feldman to be the next director, the fifth in its 77-year history. She will succeed Earl A. “Rusty” Powell III, one of the longest-tenured nonprofit CEOs or directors in the nation. He has been director of the NGA since 1992.

The gallery announced in November 2017 that Powell would step down in 2019. A committee of the Board of Trustees began an executive search in April 2018, with the New York City firm of Philips Oppenheim.

Feldman will assume her duties as director, effective March 11. She has been the Nivin and Duncan MacMillan director and president of the Mia since 2008. She is past president of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and past chair of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).

Feldman earned her bachelor of arts degree in classical archaeology from the University of Michigan and a master’s from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London. She is credited with doubling attendance at Mia, expanding its collection, creating a Center for Empathy and the Visual Arts, and establishing a contemporary art department and new galleries for showcasing the art of Africa. Prior to leading Mia, Feldman served as director of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Tennessee from 1999 to 2007.

NGA ranked No. 81 in the 2018 NPT 100, a study of the largest nonprofits in the nation that derive 10 percent of revenue from public support. Total revenue was $244 million for the fiscal year ending in September 2017. That included  $149 million in government grants and contributions and $35.5 million in other gifts and contributions.

Powell earned total compensation of $1.25 million, including base compensation of $950,951, according to the organization’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990. The gallery receives more than 5.2 million visitors annually.