Michael Brand may have left Australia more than a decade ago to pursue a career in some of America's most prestigious art museums, but he always dreamed of coming back.
Now, his wish has been granted, with the announcement yesterday of his appointment as director of the Art Gallery of NSW.
The former Canberran will be filling the formidable shoes of the gallery's former director, Edmund Capon, who retired last year after 33 years at the helm.
But Dr Brand will be returning to Australia with his own formidable reputation, as a former director of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Speaking to the The Canberra Times from his hotel room in Switzerland yesterday, Dr Brand said he was both excited and daunted to be taking up the challenge in Sydney.
''We've been out of Australia now for 10 or 11 years, but it's always been my hope to have a chance to come back and make some contribution to the arts in Australia, and to be a leader of a major art museum there is fantastic,'' he said.
Born in Canberra, Dr Brand spent some of his school years in America, when his father worked for the International Monetary Fund.
He returned to Australia and completed his undergraduate studies at the Australian National University, majoring in art history and Asian studies, before heading back to America to complete a masters and doctorate at Harvard.
He returned to Canberra to work at the National Gallery, where he was the founder of Asian art - today one of the gallery's most significant collections.
He was pipped by Brian Kennedy for the directorship of the gallery in 1996 and later spent four years at the Queensland Art Gallery as assistant director.
Dr Brand moved to the US in 2000 to take up the directorship of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and was appointed the director of the Getty Museum in 2005.
He stepped down from that role before the end of his contract in 2010, and most recently was a consulting director of the Aga Khan Museum currently under construction in Toronto.
Dr Brand is excited to be bringing his family back to Australia after more than a decade and a visit to Canberra is one of the first things on his list.
''I actually haven't seen the new addition [at the National Gallery] yet, and I feel very remiss about that so I'll definitely take my first chance to get there,'' he said.
He believed contemporary art was a vital area and Sydney was well-placed to look at contemporary art from the Islamic world and the United States.
Dr Brand is due to take up his position in Sydney mid-year. with Joyce Morgan
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