Congratulations, Daniel Weiss. You've passed the audition. As announced in today's press release, the Metropolitan Museum's board voted unanimously to make permanent President Weiss' previously interim appointment as the museum's CEO. No surprises there. The big news, unmentioned in today's NY Times report, but implicit in the Met's official announcement, is the board's … [Read more...] about President Dan Weiss Snares Top Spot at Metropolitan Museum (with director as subordinate)
Archives for 2017
Diller Thriller: MoMA’s Mega-Makover, An Irreverent Photo Essay
After my involuntary hiatus, I re-joined the scribe tribe on Thursday to learn more about what Robin Pogrebin had already announced to us in the NY Times earlier that morning---the completion of Phase One of the Museum of Modern Art's $450-million capital project (the renovation and reconfiguration of the eastern portion of its sprawling physical plant) and the plans for the … [Read more...] about Diller Thriller: MoMA’s Mega-Makover, An Irreverent Photo Essay
Proud and Unbowed: Tom Campbell’s Valedictory to the Press (plus, a look to the future)
I was surprised and saddened to realize (from Robin Pogrebin's tweet) that I hadn't been invited to Tom Campbell's press briefing at the Metropolitan Museum on Wednesday---the last of these biannual events before he "step[s] down" (his words, my link) from the museum's directorship on June 30. I've attended these informative conclaves for decades: Hearing of my plight, a … [Read more...] about Proud and Unbowed: Tom Campbell’s Valedictory to the Press (plus, a look to the future)
The Impermanent Permanent-Collection Display: LACMA Follows MoMA’s Dicey Example
Memo to LA Times art critic Christopher Knight: You were mistaken when you wrote the last week that "an impermanent permanent collection"—such as what is being proposed by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for its planned Peter Zumthor-designed galleries—"is unprecedented." It's already happened at New York's Museum of Modern Art---a cautionary tale that should give pause to … [Read more...] about The Impermanent Permanent-Collection Display: LACMA Follows MoMA’s Dicey Example
Doomsday Scenario: President Trump’s Bludgeoned Budgets for NEA, NEH, IMLS (with video)
William "Bro" Adams, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and an Obama appointee, clearly knew what was coming when he precipitously resigned his position yesterday, effective today. Short notice, Bro! As reported by The Hill, the NEH, National Endowment for the Arts, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Corporation for Public Broadcasting are … [Read more...] about Doomsday Scenario: President Trump’s Bludgeoned Budgets for NEA, NEH, IMLS (with video)
$110.5-Million Man: Yusaku Maezawa Buys Basquiat, Setting Auction Record for Any American Artist
Sotheby's Contemporary auction tonight was a mostly workmanlike affair, with one shining exception: Basquiat's vibrantly scary 1982 "Untitled" skull, the undisputed star in this week of major auctions in New York, leered at his puny presale estimate ("in excess of $60 million"), and powered his way to a $98-million hammer price ($110.5 million with buyer's premium). The … [Read more...] about $110.5-Million Man: Yusaku Maezawa Buys Basquiat, Setting Auction Record for Any American Artist
Suspension of Suspense: Christie’s Tops Sotheby’s in Relying on Pre-Arranged Bids for Major Auctions
After Sotheby's public disclosure last Wednesday of how much it is relying on guarantees in general and irrevocable bids in particular, Christie's on Friday responded to my question about its own guarantee portfolio. Its figures suggest that Christie's is relying on pre-orchestrated bids even more heavily than is Sotheby's: "Overall," a Christie's spokesperson told me, "we have … [Read more...] about Suspension of Suspense: Christie’s Tops Sotheby’s in Relying on Pre-Arranged Bids for Major Auctions
Next Week’s Bellwether Auctions: Guarantees, Investor Pleas, Uncertainties
Ahead of next week's major Impressionist, modern and contemporary art auctions, both Sotheby's and Christie's are assuring possibly skittish buyers that there are "signs of strengthening" in the market (in the words of Tad Smith, Sotheby's CEO) and cause to be "confident in the art market" (in the words of Sara Friedlander, Christie's department head for post-war and … [Read more...] about Next Week’s Bellwether Auctions: Guarantees, Investor Pleas, Uncertainties
Schmooze & Peruse: My Live Tweets on the Frieze Art Fair in New York
I thought I'd give it another try by attending the preview for Frieze Art Fair (to May 7), but I still find that, for me, art fairs are a a good way to network with artworld luminaries but a poor way to view and absorb art. A suitable format for conveying this superficial, disjointed experience is chain of live tweets. Aside from the people mentioned in my tweets, I ran into … [Read more...] about Schmooze & Peruse: My Live Tweets on the Frieze Art Fair in New York
Defying Trump, Bipartisan Deal Would Boost Funding for NEA and NEH (with strings attached)
The strong efforts of arts-and-humanities advocates appear to have (at least temporarily) overcome the pernicious, fallacious notion that the National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities are preserves of the elite and therefore unworthy of government support. But Congress has added some of its own guidelines for awarding federal arts grants, just to make sure. Far … [Read more...] about Defying Trump, Bipartisan Deal Would Boost Funding for NEA and NEH (with strings attached)
Blogback: John Ravenal, deCordova Director, Defends Higher Museum Fees for Out-of-Towners
John Ravenal, executive director of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA, which offers free admission to Lincoln residents, takes issue with Out-of-Towner Downer: Metropolitan Museum Considers a Xenophobic Admission Policy. Your comments on the Met's possible change in admission policy seemed shortsighted to me (and the metaphor of "xenophobia" strikes me … [Read more...] about Blogback: John Ravenal, deCordova Director, Defends Higher Museum Fees for Out-of-Towners
Out-of-Towner Downer: Metropolitan Museum Considers a Xenophobic Admission Policy
Saul Steinberg's famous New Yorker cover portraying how Manhattanites view the rest of the world came to mind when I read Robin Pogrebin's NY Times article about the Metropolitan Museum's tentative (to my mind, wrongheaded) proposal to discriminate against out-of-towners in charging admission fees. Especially at a time when our President is fueling his supporters' … [Read more...] about Out-of-Towner Downer: Metropolitan Museum Considers a Xenophobic Admission Policy
“Moral Obligation”: My Chat with Cleveland Museum of Art’s William Griswold (plus Benjamin & Rub)
William Griswold has no interest in leaving the directorship of the Cleveland Museum for Art (CMA) any time soon...not even for the top spot at the beleaguered Metropolitan Museum (for which I had presumptuously nominated him). That's what he averred towards the end of our extended conversation over oatmeal at the New York hotel where he was staying recently, from which he … [Read more...] about “Moral Obligation”: My Chat with Cleveland Museum of Art’s William Griswold (plus Benjamin & Rub)
Amidst Villar Rojas’ Chaotic Ruins on Met’s Roof Garden, Dan Weiss Sets Me Straight (with video)
"Barratt's Back," I announced in the erroneous headline of a recent post. It seems that she never left. At least that's what Metropolitan Museum President Daniel Weiss told me at Thursday's press preview for the Met's latest Roof Garden commission---Adrián Villar Rojas' The Theater of Disappearance (to Oct. 29). "Theater of the Absurd" might be a more apt title for this … [Read more...] about Amidst Villar Rojas’ Chaotic Ruins on Met’s Roof Garden, Dan Weiss Sets Me Straight (with video)
Blogback: Francis Naumann on Duchamp’s Remakes of the “Fountain” Readymade
Art historian and gallerist Francis Naumann responds to Plumbing Duchamp’s Urinal: How Erudite Art Historians Piss on Simplicity: As you can well imagine, I took considerable offense in your remarks, as you go on to identify me as the erudite art historian who has pissed on simplicity. To begin with, you call me a gallerist, which I am right now, but which I was not when this … [Read more...] about Blogback: Francis Naumann on Duchamp’s Remakes of the “Fountain” Readymade