The sneaky big Metropolitan Museum* changed its website over the weekend, as I just discovered by accident. (No press release was sent and none has been posted.) There is now a press release — not yet posted online. But I’ve posted the guts at the end of my initial post. Now it is posted here.

I went looking for information about an exhibit, and found a gigantic, beautiful picture of the Met’s exterior, at night (below), at the URL, which rotates with four exhibition photos. In the right corner, on the bottom, was “Welcome to Our Newly Redesigned Website,” a note from director Thomas P. Campbell, dated yesterday. He wrote:

Since becoming Director, I have stressed two priorities: scholarship and accessibility. Our new website, which launched today, certainly embodies both of these aims, featuring complete listings of the Museum’s catalogued collections, an interactive map–with descriptions of every gallery in the Main Building and at The Cloisters–suggested itineraries to help you plan your visit, special content for Members, and much more. Of course, favorite sections still remain, like the constantly evolving Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History and Connections, which takes us on personal journeys through the collection. 

On first glance, it looks good — not least because the pictures are much bigger.

The tabs are pretty much the same as before and/or most museums: Visit, Exhibitions, Collections, Events, Learn, Research, Give and Join, About the Museum and Shop. Hours are posted on the main page (yeah!), and there are links to events in the next seven days. “Now at the Met” is right there on the right. And there’s a video link on the bottom, along with links to Kid’s stuff and the store.

It’s going to take me, and others, a while to explore all the changes — right now, it’s the presentation that seems to have changed, rather than the content, though there may be much more of that.

UPDATED: Yes, indeed, there is far more content, good content, although some old pages seem to have disappeared (e.g, where’s the “American Stories” exhibition page?).  

From the press release–

New general features of www.metmuseum.org include:

* Overviews of nearly 400 galleries at the Museum with a description and photograph of each, highlighted works of art within the gallery, and links to related content.
* The complete holdings of many collections within the Met are now accessible online, totaling more than 340,000 works of art and including all works from the Museum’s collection currently on view. Additional object records will be posted on an ongoing basis, with the goal of establishing records online for the remainder of the collection as expeditiously as possible. These records include links to the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, an exceptional resource providing chronological, geographical, and thematic explorations of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated by the Museum’s collections.
* A new design–elegant, clean, and simple–that brings the Met’s vast online resources into a unified website with a consistent look-and-feel, simplified navigation, and improved layout.
* A new and powerful search interface for the collections that accommodates complex searches, browsing, and simple ways to narrow results, as well as recommendations of related objects.
* High-resolution images of many of the works of art, with zooming functionality allowing for detailed exploration and analysis.
* A Media Gallery that centralizes an extensive range of videos, interactive features, and other interpretive media for visitors to enjoy.
* A Give & Join section with special content for Museum Members and information on ways to support the Museum.

New features to enhance or assist in planning visits to the Museum are:

* An interactive floor plan that can be used to locate galleries and special exhibitions, as well as facilities across the Museum. Each gallery links to an overview page featuring a description and photograph of the gallery, highlighted works of art, and links to related content.
* Suggested itineraries to help navigate the Met’s extensive collections, including maps, estimated durations, and insights and stories to enhance the journeys. One of the itineraries currently available is a tour of works selected and with commentary by the Museum’s Director Thomas P. Campbell.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Met

*I consult to a foundation that supports the Met

Watching a museum die is painful. This case, while small, raises a side question, too — about a museum’s place in an award-winning city with aspirations for attracting business.

When we last left the Fayetteville, NC, Museum of Art, it had closed and was seeking advice from proven community leaders on a reorganization. The museum had already torn up plans for a $15 million expansion, drafted in 2007, when times were different.

The reorganization has now, it seems, been dismissed, and the museum is selling its permanent collection.

According to the Charlotte Observer, about 300 people were invited to a private sale of about 50 works held last Thursday at Methodist University. Per the article:

“We’re doing what we can to move forward with the predicament we have, and I think this is a good opportunity for these pictures to stay in Fayetteville,” said Mac Healy, president of the museum’s board of trustees. “The board has made the commitment from Day One to retire our debt, and this is a step toward that.”

That sale was tepid. Of 22 works offered in a live auction, just six sold — bringing a total of $13,000, according to Auction Central News. The art on offer included paintings, prints and drawings by North Carolina artists Maud Gatewood (that’s a silkscreen by her in the photo, held by Silvana Foti, a professor at Methodist U), Herb Jackson, Claude Howell and Joe Cox, plus several local artists. The other 28 works were offered in a silent auction, but I haven’t found any reports of what they fetched. Several hundred other, lesser works will be sold by a “fine arts company in Charlotte,” according to ACN. With all the money going to pay off debt, there’s little hope for a new museum there in the future.

When I looked up the population of Fayetteville — not small, 200,000 — I was surprised to find out that, according to Wikipedia, it has won the “prestigious All-American City Award from the National Civic League three times,” in 1985, 2001 and 2011. The award, given to just 10 cities a year, helps them attract and retain employers.

It might be a little harsh to say the Fayetteville, given the art museum fiasco, doesn’t deserve an award. But I don’t think it’s too harsh to suggest that the NCL might want to consider the health of the arts sector in their award judgments. Aren’t we all convinced that art enhances creativity?

How to get the NCL to agree? Perhaps the American Association of Museums or Americans for the Arts might add that to their already admittedly long lists of advocacy items.

Photo Credit: Cindy Burnham, Courtesy of the Charlotte Observer  

 In the middle of this horrible week for the stock market, collectors came out and put up a lot of money at the Artists for Haiti auction Thursday night. The total, $13.7 million, exceeded the presale estimate of $7.5 million to $10.5 million, and four world record prices were set! All 27 works, donated by the artists with some specifically for the auction, sold.

Christie’s, which conducted the auction but took no fees, sais that Artists for Haiti became the most successful charity auction it has ever held (but not the overalll record for a charity auction, which is held by Sotheby’s: it raised $42.6 million in 2008 for a Bono-staged event). 

All $13.7 million will go to selected charities in Haiti.

Two works were sold for seven figures: a Marlene Dumas painting fetched $2,000,000 and a Luc Tuymans brought $1,150,000. Records were set for Adel Abdessemed ($350,000), Glenn Ligon ($450,000), Nate Lowman ($140,000), and Raymond Pettibon ($820,000), who had donated a pair of surfer drawings. 

The Dan Flavin, donated by his estate, fetched $950,000.

You can see more works from the sale on the website of David Zwirner Gallery; Zwirner organized the auction with Ben Stiller.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of David Zwirner Gallery

Next Friday, Sept. 30, the Frick Collection is trying something new to attract young audiences: College Night. And it’s free.

This outreach attempt is a pilot program developed by the Frick’s Education Chief Rika Burnham. This summer, she used a college-age arts intern to research the “viability” of a College Night. They discovered that a few other museums have tried it, and liked it apparently.

So, on Sept. 30, undergraduate and graduate students need only show their IDs to gain entry from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with one catch: They need to reserve in advance (Capacity is always a problem for these open events). Even that makes sense, though, because the Frick is supplying — also free — beverages and light snacks.

But it’s the programming that counts (all here in a PDF).  Yes, there will be a DJ in the Music Room, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Before that, interns will give introductory talks about the Frick, and curators will speak in more detail on Rembrandt, Fragonard, and other topics. The college kids may sketch in the courtyard, learn about the Frick Art Reference Library in an information lounge and see what other educational programs the Frick offers for students.

This idea is not completely new; among the other museums that have tried are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, North Carolina Museum of Art, Portland Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, Getty Center, Getty Villa, Museum of Fine Arts – Boston, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

But for the Frick, it’s breaking new ground. I hope the turnout is excellent.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Frick Collection

 

The Ford Foundation and some trustees have stayed the closure of the American Folk Art Museum.

At a board meeting last night, according to published reports, the board decided against closing and transferring the museum’s collections and voted to remain open.

It also elected a new board president, Edward Blanchard, who told The New York Times: “We are confident that we’re embarking on a prudent course with the facilities that we have and the staff that we have. I think we’re going to do some very exciting things.”

There is no indication of the size of the new donations.