I did a double-take last week upon seeing the Wall Street Journal's belated rave for what the newspaper's art writer, Lance Esplund, described as an "enchanting, community-curated show" of Pueblo pottery (Grounded in Clay, to June 4, 2024). It had opened at the Metropolitan Museum some three months before the WSJ's review appeared. As CultureGrrl readers know, I had serious … [Read more...] about Metropolitan Museum’s Curators are Grounded by Its Uneven “Grounded in Clay” Display
Search Results for: max hollein
Christie’s Auction of the Horten Hoard—Tainted by Nazi Expropriation? (Plus: a “Mishneh Torah” Update)
In another case of museums' declining cash donations because of the money's problematic source, Christie's had attempted "to donate a significant portion of its commission" from the sales from Heidi Horton's jewelry collection "to organizations that contribute to vitally important Holocaust research and education. It will be up to these organizations, if they so wish, to … [Read more...] about Christie’s Auction of the Horten Hoard—Tainted by Nazi Expropriation? (Plus: a “Mishneh Torah” Update)
FTX Hex at the Met: Givebacks of Bankman-Fried’s Problematic Benefactions
I've written often over the years about museums' givebacks of antiquities to countries of origin. But the Metropolitan Museum's eyebrow-raising announcement (via this court document) that it is returning monetary contributions it received from the indicted Sam Bankman-Fried (aka: SBF), founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, is a reversal that rarely (if ever) happens in … [Read more...] about FTX Hex at the Met: Givebacks of Bankman-Fried’s Problematic Benefactions
“Lagerfeld” Saga: Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Needs a Rewrite (so might “Pueblo Pottery”)
Notwithstanding the eager visitors who have been drawn to the Metropolitan Museum's current crowd-magnet---Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty (to July 16), I found the show repellent, and not only because of the late designer's distasteful views that have been called out by several commentators. In its installation missteps, its awkwardly written labels and, especially, in its … [Read more...] about “Lagerfeld” Saga: Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Needs a Rewrite (so might “Pueblo Pottery”)
Revenge Is Sweet? Chipperfield Wields His ’23 Pritzker Prize to Cudgel the Metropolitan Museum
It's small recompense for having been unceremoniously dumped from a much publicized, coveted commission. But British architect David Chipperfield must have felt at least a twinge of satisfaction in thumbing his nose at his fickle client, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on the occasion of his having been named as the recipient of architecture's highest (and most lucrative) … [Read more...] about Revenge Is Sweet? Chipperfield Wields His ’23 Pritzker Prize to Cudgel the Metropolitan Museum
Lauders’ Orders: Sibling Rivalry at Leonard’s & Ronald’s Dueling Shows at Metropolitan Museum & Neue Galerie
Whether by sheer coincidence or deliberate plan, New York City is currently the venue for simultaneous ambitious museums shows featuring works from the collection of one of the two art-collecting sons of late cosmetics magnate Estée Lauder. While both displays (five blocks apart on Fifth Avenue) are well worth a visit, the concept and execution underlying each of them couldn't … [Read more...] about Lauders’ Orders: Sibling Rivalry at Leonard’s & Ronald’s Dueling Shows at Metropolitan Museum & Neue Galerie
Philippe de Montebello’s Left-Handed Compliment for the Metropolitan Museum’s Gutsy Guston Gambit
Talk about "damning with faint praise"! Philippe de Montebello, after bowing out gracefully, at the end of his long, legendary reign as the Metropolitan Museum's director, has rarely (if ever) allowed himself the latitude to pass judgment on his successors' actions. So hats off to Robin Pogrebin of the NY Times for eliciting a barely veiled (and needed) corrective from … [Read more...] about Philippe de Montebello’s Left-Handed Compliment for the Metropolitan Museum’s Gutsy Guston Gambit
Annenberg’s Ghost Rises from the Grave (as threatened) to Haunt the Met’s Show of “Van Gogh’s Cypresses”
"I’m excited to announce a major show opening in May, which I will say can only happen at the Met," Max Hollein, the Metropolitan Museum's director, said yesterday at a press reveal of plans for upcoming exhibitions. Actually, it was Christie's auction house that made the first (oblique) public announcement about the Met's potential blockbuster---Van Gogh's Cypresses---to … [Read more...] about Annenberg’s Ghost Rises from the Grave (as threatened) to Haunt the Met’s Show of “Van Gogh’s Cypresses”
Deaccession Regression: AAMD Smashes Its Bedrock Principle
It's getting harder to take the Association of Art Museum Directors seriously as an arbiter of professional standards. Long regarded as the definer and defender of art-museum ethics, AAMD has compromised its credibility and its claim to authority by crushing to quicksand its formerly bedrock principle regarding collection management: Having repeatedly maintained that the … [Read more...] about Deaccession Regression: AAMD Smashes Its Bedrock Principle
Battle of “The Boxer”: Grappling with Brinkmann’s 2022 Reimagination after Accepting the Met’s 2013 Elucidation
In my previous post debunking the Metropolitan Museum's highly speculative new exhibition---Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color (to Mar. 26), I intentionally omitted mention of what is arguably the most important (and most debatable) piece in the show---the "reconstructed" copy of the ancient Greek masterpiece that had most riveted me when I had the privilege of admiring the … [Read more...] about Battle of “The Boxer”: Grappling with Brinkmann’s 2022 Reimagination after Accepting the Met’s 2013 Elucidation
Garish, Gaudy, Goofy: Seeing Double from Metropolitan Museum’s “Chroma” Clones of Ancient Statues
Ever since I learned that ancient Greek and Roman sculptures were originally cloaked in color (not in shades of ivory and beige, as they appear today in their faded state), I've been curious to learn more. Disappointingly, the Metropolitan Museum's new exhibition exploring "polychromy"---the use of color in ancient art---left me longing for less. The tempting description … [Read more...] about Garish, Gaudy, Goofy: Seeing Double from Metropolitan Museum’s “Chroma” Clones of Ancient Statues
Weiss Flight: The Challenges Confronting the Metropolitan Museum’s Next President
This hit me hard. On Tuesday, an announcement from the Metropolitan Museum landed in my inbox with a thud: I have admired Daniel Weiss' skill, knowledge and proactive approach in deftly steering the Metropolitan Museum through troubled waters since he arrived in 2015, and I think he's been a much needed steadying influence after the instability of the Tom Campbell years. … [Read more...] about Weiss Flight: The Challenges Confronting the Metropolitan Museum’s Next President
Fallout from the Major Spring Sales: Auction Houses Win, Art Museums Lose
What else are you going to invest in right now? Art doesn’t evaporate, and the people who came out tonight knew they were getting quality works. So said Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart (as quoted by Kelly Crow in the Wall Street Journal) after Monday’s Macklowe sale, in what was struck me as one of the most crass and callow remarks ever uttered by an auction-house official. … [Read more...] about Fallout from the Major Spring Sales: Auction Houses Win, Art Museums Lose
Whose Gaze Is It? Dueling Carpeaux Shows at the Met & Cleveland Museum Take Liberties with Black Liberation
After allowing the Metropolitan Museum's Why Born Enslaved! by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux its moment in the spotlight in March, the Cleveland Museum boldly upstaged its New York counterpart in April with the triumphant announcement that it had "acquired...the master model [emphasis added] from which the other versions [presumably including the Met's] were produced." The … [Read more...] about Whose Gaze Is It? Dueling Carpeaux Shows at the Met & Cleveland Museum Take Liberties with Black Liberation
Increased Cultural Isolation of Russia: Hermitage’s International Board of Museum Leaders Is Suspended UPDATED
UPDATE: In response to my query, the National Gallery, Washington, sent me this explanation as to why Kaywin Feldman, its director, was no longer on the Hermitage's International Advisory Board: Kaywin resigned from her Hermitage IAB board service in early March, consistent with the spirit of guidance issued by the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, and Commerce, as part … [Read more...] about Increased Cultural Isolation of Russia: Hermitage’s International Board of Museum Leaders Is Suspended UPDATED