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 losing 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.

Most of the jobs going are frontline workers, with one of seven executive positions cut and the level below mostly untouched, according to the Public Service Association (PSA) which represents gallery employees.

But Ms Page argues the restructure will leave 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 Radio in Sy

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