Stay tuned this afternoon for a strange and perhaps (a little) juicy announcement from the Metropolitan Museum of Art*. When trustees meet late this afternoon, one item on the agenda will be formal approval of a new trustee designated by the city’s controller, Scott Stringer (below).
It will be none other than Harold Holzer, who until last summer was Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, at the Met–for years, the chief spokesman. And so a former employee now turns up as a trustee.
All of which shows that art and politics do not make strange bedfellows.
Holzer left the Met, of course, with plenty of things to do–everyone knows that he is an expert on Lincoln, with a few dozen books to his credit and more books on the way. He also signed on for a new job right away: director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. But Holzer has always been plugged in to Democratic party politics; he worked for Bella Abzug and Mario Cuomo, and has stayed connected to many people in city and state government. That was part of his job, some would say. Clearly, he knows Stringer.
But his new post, while not unprecedented (Robert Kasdin, a former treasurer and chief investment officer at the Met, also went on the board), could make for delicate moments. When Holzer left the Met, director Thomas Campbell said in the announcement: “We will miss his quick wit, wry humor, felicitous prose and savvy advice.†At the time, though, there was gossip that Campbell wanted his own person in Holzer’s job–just as he has wanted his own people, unconnected to the previous administration of Philippe de Montebello, in other important jobs.
So now he has one of them back, sort of. Holzer of course won’t be crafting press releases or statements from the director, but he’ll be there watching while policy is discussed and set.
One caveat: While I have all of this on good authority, something could always go wrong, of course.
*I consult to a foundation that supports the Met.