The Barnes Foundation has announced that its president and CEO, Kimberly Camp, will leave by the end of the year, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The announcement comes less than half a year after the foundation won court approval to move its famed art collection of Cezannes, Matisses, and other masterpieces from suburban Merion to Center City Philadelphia, against the explicit instructions of founder Albert C. Barnes. The move is backed by three local foundations — the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Lenfest and Annenberg foundations — that vowed to help raise $150 million for the effort. So far, $100 million of that has been pledged.

"I have decided that this is a good time to reassess my professional objectives and begin a transition to other challenges," Camp said in a release distributed on behalf of the Barnes, which she joined in 1998 after heading the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. Barnes board chair Bernard J. Watson said in the release that Camp "has guided this organization with a firm and steady hand... through a difficult period of change." The Barnes will conduct an international search for Camp's successor.

"This isn't just a pivotal time for the Barnes Foundation, it is a pivotal time for the entire cultural community in Philadelphia," said Peggy Amsterdam, president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. From the planned expansion of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to "the rest of the explosion of cultural activity, Philadelphia has finally been recognized for its potential as a world-class city," she said. "The next leader of the foundation will be a critical part of both the institution's and the community's future. The choice of the next director is important for more than the Barnes."