At a meeting at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Chief Superintendent Gary Garrels presented a series of museum purchases made by non-white artists, saying "don't worry, we will continue to collect on white art."

Employees questioned the wording at a later meeting, and Gary Garrels explained that the museum would not stop buying white art because it would be "reverse discrimination". The expression led to further criticism and a name-gathering demanding his departure, according to Artnet.

One in line to end

Over the weekend Gary Garrels apologized in an email to staff:

“I sincerely apologize to every one of you. I realized almost immediately when I used the term 'reverse discrimination' that it was offensive and an extremely poor choice of words on my part. I'm very sorry about how outrageous the words were to many in the staff. "

The chief curator's message to resign follows a turbulent time at the museum, among other things, the management has been criticized for treating non-white employees badly.

Former employees have also urged artists to boycott the museum and "institutionalized repression". Gary Garrels is the fourth to stop at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the past month.