Brady Lum, the chief operating officer of Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, has resigned following an internal investigation into the alleged misappropriation of approximately $600,000. The Woodruff Arts Center, which oversees the museum, discovered financial irregularities in early December and subsequently referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia for potential criminal prosecution. The organization believes Lum acted alone over a period of three to four years.
This scandal hits the largest visual arts institution in the Southeast, raising significant questions about internal financial oversight at major cultural nonprofits. While leadership maintains that the museum remains financially stable and that operations will continue unaffected, the referral to federal authorities and the notification of donors highlight the reputational risks involved. The case underscores the vulnerability of even well-funded institutions to internal misconduct and the high stakes of fiscal transparency in the arts sector.