Was Brian Kennedy forced out as director of the National Gallery of Australia? At the least, he was politically isolated. So now who will succeed Kennedy? “John McDonald, the gallery’s former head of Australian art, will not apply. He resigned after a falling out with Kennedy, and says the new director needs to reverse the steady decline in visitor numbers and morale that happened under Kennedy. ‘Kennedy should have gone in disgrace several years ago. It will take a while to repair the damage’.”