{"id":738,"date":"2009-06-26T17:32:21","date_gmt":"2009-06-27T00:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp\/2009\/06\/booty_time_gifts_to_sam_in_hon\/"},"modified":"2009-06-26T17:32:21","modified_gmt":"2009-06-27T00:32:21","slug":"booty_time_gifts_to_sam_in_hon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/2009\/06\/booty_time_gifts_to_sam_in_hon.html","title":{"rendered":"Booty time: gifts to SAM in honor of Mimi Gates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mimigatesserra.jpg\"<\/span>
\nAny museum director (and plenty of curators) who leave the job to
\napplause gets presents for the institution. Mimi Gates has earned her
\nshare.<\/p>\n

In her 14-year tenure as director of the Seattle Art Museum<\/a>,
\nMimi Gates, 66, guided guided SAM through a major expansion as
\nwell as the opening of a waterfront sculpture park<\/a>, what John Walsh,
\nformer director of the Getty Museum, called her “benign, beautiful land
\ngrab.” 
\nShe came to Seattle after 19 years at the Yale University Art Gallery,
\nseven-plus of those years as its director. <\/p>\n

With
\na doctorate in Chinese art history, her background is art rather than
\nbusiness. Under her tenure, however, the museum has been successful on
\nboth fronts. When she announced<\/a> her retirement last year, Walsh said:<\/p>\n

It
\nhelps if you’re a fundamentalist, and she is. She believes in the
\nbasics of building the collections and mounting serious exhibitions.
\nExpansions are great and nobody has done it better than she has, but
\nshe proceeds from sound museum ideas. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Future plans include starting a Center for Asian Art and Ideas<\/i> at the Seattle Asian Art Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(Photo of Gates with Richard Serra by Joshua Trujillo\/P-I. All other images from SAM.)<\/p>\n

Today SAM announced a list of 20 gifts donated in her honor.<\/p>\n

Highlights:<\/p>\n

Pine and Rock and Lotus and Ducks<\/i>,
\n1690s
\nBada Shanren (Zhu Da)
\nChinese, 1626-1705 Set of two hanging scrolls; ink on satin; 172 x 43cm
\neach.
\n(The Gates Foundation Art Acquisition Fund, backed by Gates’ step-son
\nand step-daughter-in-law, Bill and Melinda Gates, contributed to this
\ngift.)<\/p>\n

\"gatesgifts1.jpg\"<\/span>\"gatesgifts2.jpg\"<\/span><\/p>\n


\nSt. Sebastian Tended by St. Irene<\/i>, ca. 1638-39
\nAttributed to Georges de La Tour and studio, oil on canvas; 42 x 55 7\/8 inches.<\/p>\n

\"gatesgifts3.jpg\"<\/span>Left, Awelye<\/i> Women’s Ceremony<\/i>, 2006 Abie Loy, acrylic on linen; 102 x 152 cm.
Right, Number 2,<\/i> 1949, 1949 Clyfford Still, oil on canvas; 91 \u00be x 68 7\/8 in. <\/p>\n

\"gatesgifts5.jpg\"<\/a><\/span>\"gatesgifts6.jpg\"<\/span>Both
\ngems, but I believe that collections from which they derive are already
\nin the bag, the Loy from Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, and the Still
\nfrom Jane Davis (now Lang) and the late David Davis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Full list here<\/a>. It’s as wide as art itself, in tribute to the breath of Gates’ interests.<\/p>\n

Curious that there are no fish. Here’s the lead of a profile<\/a> I wrote in 2005. I would have gone on in this gory vein, but back then I had editors.<\/p>\n

When an engine failed in an old military helicopter riding low in a
\nmountainous region of Mongolia, Mimi Gates was huddled with female
\nfriends on benches in the chopper’s rear. As the second engine started
\nto sputter, they continued to observe their version of the golden rule:
\nno complaining.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They remained calm even after the pilots began trading insults, then blows. <\/p>\n

Under these circumstances, the landing was lucky, but the near-death
\nexperience nearly a decade ago did not derail the trip. Ranging in age
\nfrom mid-40s to early 80s, none insisted on the solace of a good hotel.\n<\/p>\n

Instead, they hopped on a replacement helicopter and continued to
\ncamp out. Two nights later, Gates was hip-deep in a river near the
\nRussian border, pursuing the elusive taimen, a monstrous member of the
\nsalmonid family. <\/p>\n

Because of a full moon, she could clearly see streams of furry
\ncreatures swimming across the river. Occasionally, one would squeak as
\nit was pulled under. The taimen were feeding on rats. Undeterred, Gates
\ncontinued to try to land fish that had just dined on rat. <\/p>\n

The woman isn’t squeamish.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

P.S.<\/i> Bad
\nidea<\/b>: SAM also announced that the bridge in the Olympic Sculpture Park spanning railroad tracks that is host to Teresita Fernandez’ Seattle Cloud Cover<\/a> <\/i>will be named the Mimi Gates Bridge. What? Nobody’s going for that. The bridge is already known as Seattle Cloud Cover<\/i>, a title used ironically, as those clouds are from Miami. Let the artist have the bridge. It’s hers already.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Any museum director (and plenty of curators) who leave the job to applause gets presents for the institution. Mimi Gates has earned her share. In her 14-year tenure as director of the Seattle Art Museum, Mimi Gates, 66, guided guided SAM through a major expansion as well as the opening of a waterfront sculpture park, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}