Art Gallery of NSW director Maud Page has defended the makeup of staff cuts at the much-loved institution.

The Sydney gallery is looking to save $7.5 million by cutting one in eight full-time-equivalent roles.

The cuts, announced in August, drew condemnation from the union and prompted staff to walk off the job for the first time in a decade.

Executive positions have been shielded from the cuts and most of the jobs going are frontline workers, according to the Public Service Association (PSA) which represents gallery employees.

But Ms Page argues cuts are being made within her executive ranks, leaving her with the leanest leadership team of any cultural institution in the state.

"I think it's really well calibrated, and I would challenge anyone that thinks it's not," she told ABC Radi

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