James N. Wood | Getty trust chief, 69

James N. Wood, president and chief executive of the J. Paul Getty Trust, who also worked for 25 years at the Art Institute of Chicago, has died. He was 69.

Mr. Wood died unexpectedly of natural causes, Mark Siegel, who chairs the Getty board of trustees, said in a statement Saturday. He was found in his Los Angeles home late Friday.

Siegel paid tribute to Mr. Wood's accomplishments during his three years at the Getty, including his focus on increasing collaboration between the Getty museum, foundation, and research and conservation institutes.

Mr. Wood worked for a quarter-century as director and president of the Art Institute of Chicago, then retired with his wife, Emese, to Rhode Island. He came out of retirement to work at the Getty trust in December 2006, after the resignation of Barry Munitz.

He earned his undergraduate degree in art history from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., and his master's from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.

He specialized in European paintings, sculpture, and photography. - AP