The Cleveland Museum of Art has named David Franklin as its new director, replacing Timothy Rub who departed the museum to run the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A specialist in Italian Renaissance and baroque art, Franklin, 49, currently serves as the deputy director and chief curator of the National Gallery of Canada.

At the National Gallery since 1998, Franklin organized shows that included "Leonardo, Michelangelo and the Renaissancein Florence" and "Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture," an exhibition jointly organized with the J. Paul Getty Museumin2008 that was the first North American show of the sculptor's portrait busts. Franklin is currently organizing a show on Caravaggio,which has been set to debut at the National Gallery in the summer of 2011.

The new Cleveland director's tenure at the Canada museum was embroiled in controversy, however, when allegations surfaced in 2008 that he had deleted emails he had written to colleagues about a woman who worked at the institution. That woman, Erika Dolphin, had filed an official grievance against the museum with her union after she was fired from a curatorial assistant job. Following his dismissal, Franklin filed suit to gain his job back. In a court statement he said that the emails he deleted contained information that could have "embarrassed the gallery or Ms. Dolphin." He was subsequently rehired.

Before the scandal, Franklin had been considered a leading contender to eventually become director of the National Gallery, whose leader was planning retirement at the time. The job eventually went to Marc Mayer, the former director of the Musée d'art contemporain de Montreal. 

"David has made outstanding contributions to our institution," Mayer said of Franklin's Cleveland appointment in a statement released to press. "While we will miss him greatly, I truly believe this is his moment to take the helm of an internationally renowned museum and make optimal use of his ideas, energies and talents there." The Cleveland Museum of Art is currently pursuing a $350 million expansion designed by Rafael Viñoly, which is scheduled for completion in 2013.