Just two months after overseeing the completion of a six-year, $350 million renovation, Tom Lentz, the director of the Harvard Art Museums, has announced his intention to step down.

The news comes as a surprise to some in the museum world who thought Lentz might stick around to enjoy the fruits of his many years of labor. But to others in the know, the announcement is no surprise at all.

Lentz, 63, took up the position in 2003, and in the intervening dozen years has been put to the test so many times and in so many ways that many people marvel he lasted so long. He is set to depart on July 1; a search for his replacement begins immediately.