Philadelphia Art Museum Sues Sacked Director Sasha Suda for Theft
58Nov. 26, 2025
ThePhiladelphia Art Museum(PhAM) has filed a civil suit against former director and CEOSasha Suda, accusing her of theft. The filing, which claims that Suda “misappropriated funds from the Museum and lied to cover up her theft,” is the latest twist in a saga that began earlier this month when the institution, until recently known as thePhiladelphia Museum of Art,fired Sudain the wake of a controversial rebranding. Suda, who hadleft her role as leaderof the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, to take the job at PhAM, subsequentlysued the Philadelphia institutionfor dismissing her two years before her five-year contract was up, claiming that she had been let go “without a valid basis” and after a “corrupt and unethical faction” of the museum’s board complained about her attempts to modernize the museum.
The museum in its filing rejected Suda’s allegations and claimed that Suda “repeatedly asked the Compensation Committee” for raises above her annual salary of $720,000 and when she did not receive them, “awarded herself the salary increase the Committee had just declined.” Per the filing, the museum learned of the increases in September and opened an investigation into Suda. “After reviewing the evidence and evaluating their fiduciary duties to the Museum, the Executive Committee determined that the evidence overwhelmingly established that Suda violated her Agreement by misappropriating Museum funds and engaging in repeated acts of dishonesty,” wrote the institution in its filing. PhAM last weektapped former Metropolitan Museum of Art director Daniel H. Weissto replace Suda.
“The motion, as well as its false narrative, fits the Philadelphia Museum’s longstanding pattern of trying to cover up its misconduct and mistreatment of staff,” Luke Nikas, an attorney for Suda, told Artnews. Addressing the museum’s demand that these matters be resolved, as per Suda’s contract, outside of court channels, Nikas added, “We expected the Museum would prefer to hide the sordid details about its unlawful treatment of Sasha Suda in a confidential arbitration. If the Museum had nothing to hide, it would not be afraid to litigate in state court where we filed the case.”