The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has chosen Thomas P. Campbell, curator in the museum's Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, to succeed departing director Philippe de Montebello.

Campbell, 46, specializes in European tapestries and has worked at the museum since 1995. His selection was announced following the museum’s board of trustees voting Tuesday afternoon, after an eight-month search that began when De Montebello, 72, informed about his plans of retirement.

De Montebello, who has run the museum since 1977, announced his departure in January, saying that the time was right “for both my own -- and the museum's -- inevitable transition.”

In selecting Campbell, the Met have considered both his intellectual heft and continuity. This choice was bold, as Campbell has never run a museum department or a museum before, but it shows that the search committee considered the museum would evolve best with a young leader at its head.

Campbell, a Cambridge native and graduate of the Courtauld Institute in London, built his reputation through much-appreciated scholarly catalogs and shows involving complex logistics and diplomacy.

In a press release, Campbell said that since he joined the museum in 1995, he has “developed a profound respect and affection for this unique institution, its encyclopedic collections, and above all its talented staff.”

“I pledge to them that I will do everything in my power to lead the museum wisely and productively during the coming years,” he added.

Campbell organized the exhibition “Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence,” which was the hit of 2002, attracting about 215,000 visitors, which was more than twice what the museum had predicted. Many of the works present in the exhibition had never been seen in America.

He also organized the popular exhibition “Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor” in 2007 and wrote catalogs for both shows.

James R. Houghton, chairman of the Met board, called Campbell “a distinguished art historian and outstanding curator.”

De Montebello served as the museum’s director for 31 years, being the eighth and longest serving director since the museum’s founding in 1870.

“Philippe de Montebello has defined the role of museum director for the last quarter century,” Michael Shapiro, director of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, said in an e-mail statement, according to Bloomberg.

Shapiro called De Montebello thoughtful, sensitive and very passionate about works of art and their impact on modern life.

During his career as a director, De Montebello has expanded the museum’s size with the addition of new wings and gallery space for European sculpture.

Concerning Campbell, the former director declared the committee’s selection “absolutely right,” noting that the choice continued a Met tradition, that of promoting its directors from within its own curatorial ranks.