Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

Pollock, "Lucifer," 1947, Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson Collection Win one, lose one. One can only speculate that when the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art signed its deal to borrow (for at least 100 years) the 1,100-work Donald and Doris Fisher Collection, it may also have unintentionally helped Stanford University sign its deal to acquire highly important works … [Read more...] about Chunk of the “Hunk”: Andersons’ Collection Bypasses SFMOMA for Stanford

You couldn't have had a more rapt audience for a movie filmed largely inside the NY Times' newsroom than the attendees at the recent Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in Orlando, with whom I got an advance look last week at Page One, Andrew Rossi's inside-baseball documentary (opening today) about the goings-on, over the course of a year, within a few marginal … [Read more...] about “Page One” Documentary: The NY Times as a Stoppard Play CORRECTED

André Harvey, "Stella," 2009, installed on outdoor path on the grounds of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Interviewing Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton about her in-construction Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art was, journalistically speaking, a good get. Alice didn't appear, let alone make herself available for interviews, during the press tour of the facility that … [Read more...] about Alice Walton’s “World-Class Museum”: Does NY Times Know Something We Don’t about Crystal Bridges?

Cover of new book, depicting the purported Michelangelo of BuffaloBy now, we've had enough of the Michelangelo of Fifth Avenue, which was taken off view at the Metropolitan Museum and dispatched to its conservation department (as Keith Christiansen, the museum's chairman of European paintings, recently told me, when I asked why it wasn't on view).But we now have a new … [Read more...] about The Michelangelo of Buffalo? Uncanny Resemblance to Gardner’s Drawing (plus the Met’s Giaquinto find)

First things first. I need to warmly thank those of you who rose to the Send CultureGrrl to Orlando challenge, which, I'm delighted to report, exceeded my goal of paying for my two nights at the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference hotel. (Let's forget about the cost of airport taxis in Orlando or parking at Newark airport.) I surpassed my fundraising target (by … [Read more...] about Invigorated by Investigators: Adventures at the IRE Conference (plus video from my panel)

From the looks of its post-meeting press release, it doesn't appear that the Association of Art Museum Directors paid much attention to the two hot-button issues that I had suggested should be fodder for discussion at the group's annual conclave last week. I still believe that forceful guidelines are urgently needed to rein in self-sponsored shows of objects drawn entirely … [Read more...] about AAMD’s Play-It-Safe Annual Meeting (plus Rent-a-MoMA)

Judith Martin aka Miss MannersI'm back, art-lings, and invigorated by the Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference. I'll fill you in on this later. But in the meantime, here's a ball that I dropped while in Orlando---another bit of anecdotal evidence suggesting that the cashiers at the Metropolitan Museum's ticket counter may not always be as "extremely well-trained" and … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Martha Graham Center’s Director on Met’s Admission Fee Hike

I'm about to powwow with my betters at the national conference of Investigative Reporters and Editors. Even Bill Keller, the executive editor of the NY Times (who is soon to step down), is scheduled to be there! (How come his successor, Jill Abramson, hasn't started tweeting yet?)Still, among the panelists on Digging Culture: The fine art of investigating the business of … [Read more...] about Off to Orlando: Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference

Harold Holzer, Metropolitan Museum's senior vice president for external affairsWhat exactly is the "economic necessity" that the Metropolitan Museum says is behind its recently announced admission-fee increase?Harold Holzer, the Met's senior vice president for external affairs, told me today that, unlike fiscal 2010, when the Met had an operating surplus of $3.7 million, the … [Read more...] about The Shaky Finances Behind the Met’s Admission Fee Increase

The Metropolitan Museum of ArtOn Friday, I promised to expand upon this post about the entirely predictable kerfuffle over the Metropolitan Museum's announced $5 increase in its suggested admission fee ($25, effective July 1). I never heard what soundbite New York Public Radio did (or didn't) use from my 10-minute Friday conversation on this topic with WNYC's reporter. But the … [Read more...] about More on the Met’s Admission-Fee Hike: Lessons in Pricing and Etiquette

Former Timeswoman Julle Iovine, writing in the blog of the Architect's Newspaper (where she is executive editor), got hold of culture editor Jonathan Landman's internal memo announcing the departure, after seven years, of Nicolai Ouroussoff, the NY Times' architecture critic. According to Landman's memo, Ouroussoff plans "to write a book about the architectural and cultural … [Read more...] about Architectural Transition: Nicolai Ouroussoff Leaves the NY Times

In its revised Professional Practices in Art Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors did a laudable job in directly confronting many of the thorny issues that have roiled the field in the 10 years since the last iteration of this bible for best practices in museums. (More on these issues later.) But there are a two hot-button topics that I feel urgently require … [Read more...] about AAMD’s Annual Meeting: CultureGrrl’s Hot-Button Agenda

The Metropolitan Museum has just won the NYC art-museum admissions-fee race (at least temporarily).Starting July 1, the recommended adult admission fee at the Met rises from $20 to $25, due to "economic necessity," as the press release helpfully explains. The "honors" for highest NYC art-museum admission price traditionally belongs to the Museum of Modern Art. But MoMA's … [Read more...] about Coming Soon: My WNYC Commentary on Met’s “Economic-Necessity” Admissions Increase UPDATED

Michael Taylor, new director of the Hood Museum, Dartmouth Michael Taylor is a lean, mean exhibition machine. (Well, at least the last part is true.) During his time as curator of modern art at the Philadelphia Museum, he's been responsible for a big chunk of that institution's best received, most illuminating shows, which have always been more than mere crowd-pleasers, … [Read more...] about Philly’s Loss: Michael Taylor Leaves the Parkway for Dartmouth’s Hood (plus: his Chagall show)

Dan Monroe, executive director of the Peabody Essex Museum and incoming AAMD presidentThis is very good news.At its annual meeting next week (June 5-8) in Raleigh, NC, Dan Monroe, executive director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, is to be named president of the Association of Art Museum Directors, of which he is currently vice president. He has a proven track … [Read more...] about News Flash: Dan Monroe to Be Named Next AAMD President