Exhibition dates: October 24, 2008 – February 1, 2009
Exhibition location: The Tisch Galleries
Press Preview: Monday, October 20, 10 a.m. – noon
To celebrate Philippe de Montebello's 31 years as Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the curators of the Museum have organized an exhibition of approximately 300 of the more than 84,000 works of art acquired during his tenure. This unique project – The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions, which will be on view in The Tisch Galleries from October 24, 2008, through February 1, 2009 – is a collaboration of the curators currently working in the Museum's 17 curatorial departments. Special emphasis will be placed on works that were transformative to the Metropolitan Museum's collections by building on existing strengths and expanding into new areas of collecting. Mr. de Montebello – the eighth and longest-serving Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art – announced in January his plans to retire at the end of the year.
"We wanted to create an exhibition to celebrate Philippe de Montebello's auspicious career by focusing on an area of spectacular achievement at the heart of
the institution: acquisitions," said Helen C. Evans, the exhibition's coordinator, who is the Metropolitan Museum's Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art. "The breadth and greatness of the works on display in The Philippe de Montebello Years will tell multiple stories – of his stellar leadership of the Museum's more than 300 curators, conservators, scientists, librarians, and educators; of the excellence of the collections in representing 5,000 years of human artistic achievement around the world; and of the Museum's vital evolution in terms of renovating, expanding, and reinstalling galleries, developing conservation and research facilities, and enhancing visitors' understanding and experiencing of art."
She continued: "Philippe de Montebello has declared that curatorial expertise is the Museum's most valuable currency. The Philippe de Montebello Years above all represents the curators' appreciation of his respect for the expertise of his staff and their recognition of his devoted and skillful stewardship over the past three decades in building the Metropolitan Museum's collections."
The works of art in the exhibition were selected by each of the curatorial department heads, working with the curatorial Director's Council and the Museum's Forum of Curators, Conservators, and Scientists – the group that proposed the idea for the exhibition. Pre-existing selections of significant works that had been published in the Metropolitan Museum's Bulletin (which is devoted each fall to major acquisitions) were also incorporated. The contributions of conservators and scientists, as well as the Museum's extensive publishing program, will be represented in the exhibition as well.
Some highlights of the exhibition include: a striding horned demon of arsenical
copper (Mesopotamia or Iran, Proto-Elamite period, ca. 3000 B.C.); an Egyptian wooden statuette of a kneeling figure (wood, Late Period or Early Ptolemaic Period, 380-246 B.C.); a porphyry support for a water basin (Roman, second century A.D.); a standing Buddha in mottled red sandstone from India (Gupta period, fifth century); a leaf from a Spanish manuscript (Romanesque, ca. 1180); Duccio di Buoninsegna's Madonna and Child (ca. 1300); the illustrated manuscript Allegory of worldly and otherworldly drunkenness (Islamic, Safavid period, ca. 1526-27); Rubens, His Wife, Helena Fourment, and One of Their Children (oil on canvas, probably late 1630s) by Peter Paul Rubens; Giovanni Battista Foggini's Grand Prince Ferdinando de' Medici (marble, ca. 1683-85); the armor of Infante Luis, Prince of Asturias (French, 1712); Ralph Earl's Elijah Boardman (American, oil on canvas, 1789); a salted paper print by Onésipe Aguado of a woman seen from the back (French, ca. 1862); a Kongo power figure (Nkisi N'Kondi) from the second half of the 19th century; Tahitian Faces (Frontal View and Profiles) (charcoal on laid paper, ca. 1899) by Paul Gauguin; a coat by Paul Poiret made in Paris in 1919; a guitar made by Hermann Hauser in Germany in 1937; and White Flag (1955) by Jasper Johns.
The installation of the 300 works of art in The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions – which will create juxtapositions of centuries and cultures not normally possible within the organization of the collections galleries of the Museum – will be overseen by Jeff Daly, Senior Design Advisor to the Director for Capital and Special Projects. Graphic design will be by Sophia Geronimus, Senior Graphic Designer, and lighting will be by Clint Coller and Richard Lichte, Senior Lighting Designers, all of the Museum's Design Department.
Online Exhibition Catalogue
In conjunction with The Philippe de Montebello Years, the Metropolitan Museum is publishing its first online exhibition catalogue. The catalogue's innovative presentation allows visitors to view works in any order, including by year of acquisition. Each work can be explored in-depth in various ways. Accompanying curatorial commentary provides insight into the importance of each acquisition to the Museum's collection; and links to the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, an innovation of the Director's tenure, provide the larger art-historical context for each work. The online catalogue is available on the Museum's website at www.metmuseum.org/special/curators_celebrate.
Another special feature on the Museum's website presents videos, podcasts, and events and programs related to the exhibition. It can be found at www.metmuseum.org/special/philippe_de_montebello_years/index.aspx. The feature includes: a series of 11 audio conversations between Philippe de Montebello and the Museum's curators, each highlighting a work of art featured in The Philippe de Montebello Years; three Storytime at the Met audio episodes narrated by Mr. de Montebello for families and younger audiences (ages 7-12); a series of video "webisodes" created by the television series Great Museums that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the planning and installation of the exhibition (a related 60-minute Great Museums documentary will air in spring 2009); and a series of archival videos introduced and narrated by Mr. de Montebello about the stories behind some of the Museum's greatest acquisitions. Subscribers to a special RSS feed dedicated to the exhibition will receive all related video and audio content as it becomes available.
Related Programs
The exhibition will be accompanied by educational programs designed for a wide range of audiences, including lectures, gallery talks, films, a panel discussion, and an interactive online workshop for teachers.
A subscription series of three evenings with Philippe de Montebello on the stage of the Metropolitan's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium – entitled Philippe de Montebello: A Triptych – was organized on the initiative of the Museum's Concerts & Lectures Department to reflect his involvement in and passion for the visual arts, music, and the spoken word. The two remaining programs, both of which are sold out, are: a conversation with award-winning art critic, author, and historian Robert Hughes on October 28; and a special reading of great Renaissance love poems and dialogues in Italian, English, and French with actress Isabella Rossellini on December 9 (also in conjunction with the fall 2008 exhibition Art and Love in Renaissance Italy).
Audio Guide
An Audio Guide program features one-on-one conversations between Philippe de Montebello and 23 curators, in which they discuss stories behind the acquisition of some of the works of art in the exhibition.
The Audio Guide program is sponsored by Bloomberg.
Philippe de Montebello
Philippe de Montebello began his career at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1963 in its Department of European Paintings and rose steadily through the curatorial ranks. Except for four-and-a-half years as Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1969-1974), he has spent his entire career at the Met, returning in 1974 to assume the post of Vice Director for Curatorial and Educational Affairs, and then becoming the Museum's Director in 1977. He assumed the additional role of Chief Executive Officer in 1998. He has not only served longer than any other director in the Metropolitan's history, but has for several years ranked as the longest-serving leader at any major museum in the world. He leads a professional staff of more than 300 curators, conservators, educators, and librarians, as well as an administrative staff, reporting through the Museum's President, consisting of more than 2,300 full- and part-time employees in the fields of operations, construction, development, marketing, finance, visitor services, systems and technology, human resources, and merchandising.
In announcing Philippe de Montebello's upcoming retirement, Museum Chairman James R. Houghton stated in January: "To say that his decision marks the end of an era surely constitutes one of the great understatements, not only in the Museum's life, but in the cultural life of the city, the state, the nation, and the world…He leaves an incomparable legacy of accomplishment that has significantly enhanced the institution and brilliantly served its vast international public. No museum director anywhere has done more to expand and enrich the appreciation of art for more generations and with greater taste, erudition, diplomacy, and vision than Philippe de Montebello."
Mr. de Montebello will step down as Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art on December 31, 2008. He recently announced that he will then assume the first Fiske Kimball Professorship in the History and Culture of Museums at New York University's renowned Institute of Fine Arts in Manhattan.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was founded in 1870 and has around 4.8 million visitors annually, holds encyclopedic collections of more than two million works of art.
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October 20, 2008
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
ONLINE CATALOGUE
For the first time in its history, the Museum is publishing an online exhibition catalogue.
This innovative presentation allows visitors to view works in any order—including by year of acquisition—and creates a kaleidoscope of images similar to that which is experienced in the galleries. Each work can be explored in depth in various ways. The accompanying curatorial comments provide insight into the importance of each acquisition to the Museum's collection.
These catalogue entries are modeled on the Museum's Recent Acquisitions bulletins, whose publication was an innovation of the Director early in his tenure. Links to the Heilbrunn Timeline
of Art History, another innovation of the Director's tenure, provide the larger art historical context for each work.
Visit the online catalogue at
www.metmuseum.org/special/philippe_de_montebello_years/exhibition/images.aspx.
To learn more about special online features related to the exhibition, see the Website section at the end of this document.
SUNDAYS AT THE MET
The acquisition of works of art is central to the mission of the Museum and has been a hallmark
of Philippe de Montebello's tenure as director. Since 1999 the Museum has been documenting
this process in a series of videos originally produced for the annual Acquisitions Benefit
Fund Dinner.
Sunday, December 7
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
This afternoon program offers a rare glimpse into the Museum's complex acquisitions process through a selection of videos followed by a panel discussion with Museum curators moderated by Philippe de Montebello, Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The producer and director of these illuminating films, Christopher Noey, museum educator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, introduces the event. Due to popular demand, this program will be ticketed. Tickets are free with Museum admission and may be picked up on a first-come, first-served basis at the ticket kiosk in
the lobby in front of The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium beginning at 10:00 on the morning of
the event.
Film
The Art of Acquisitions: Stories of Building the Metropolitan's Collections, 1999–2006 (60 min.)
2:00
Panel Discussion
Philippe de Montebello, Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, moderates a discussion
with a panel of the Museum's curators concerning acquisitions and their role in developing the Museum's vast collection. Panelists include the following Metropolitan Museum curators:
Dorothea Arnold, Lila Acheson Wallace Chairman, Department of Egyptian Art
Helen C. Evans, Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art, Department of Medieval Art
George R. Goldner, Drue Heinz Chairman, Department of Drawings and Prints
Soyoung Lee, assistant curator, Department of Asian Art
Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Curator in Charge, Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern,
and Contemporary Art
3:00
Sunday, January 25
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
This afternoon program offers the first public viewing of The 2008 Metropolitan Museum of Art Acquisitions Fund Benefit Video. The viewing is followed by a panel of Museum conservators speaking on their role in the acquisitions process at the Museum. Kent Lydecker, Frederick P.
and Sandra P. Rose Associate Director for Education, introduces the event.
Film
The 2008 Metropolitan Museum of Art Acquisitions Fund Benefit Video (16 min.)
3:00
Panel Discussion
Acquisitions and Exhibitions at the Metropolitan: The Philippe de Montebello Years
Helen C. Evans, Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art, Department of Medieval Art, moderates a panel comprised of the following Metropolitan Museum conservators:
Michael Gallagher, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge, Department of Paintings Conservation
Marco Leona, David H. Koch Scientist in Charge, Department of Scientific Research
Marjorie Shelley, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge, Department of Paper Conservation
Richard E. Stone, Senior Museum Conservator, Department of Objects Conservation
Florica Zaharia, Conservator in Charge, Department of Textile Conservation
3:30
CONCERTS & LECTURES
SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAMS
Philippe de Montebello: A Triptych
After a celebrated career of more than three decades as director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philippe de Montebello has announced his plans to retire this year. He appears on stage in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium this fall in a special triptych of programs that reflects and honors his passion and appreciation for the visual arts, music, and the spoken word.
Concert
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Carnival of the Animals
Philippe de Montebello, narrator
Orion Weiss, piano
Inon Barnatan, piano
Mendelssohn—Symphony No. 10 for Strings in B Minor; Saint-Saëns—Carnival of the Animals,
Ogden Nash version; Mozart—Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201
Friday, September 26, 8:00: SOLD OUT
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Lecture
Philippe de Montebello and Robert Hughes: A Conversation
Philippe de Montebello, director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Robert Hughes, art critic, historian, and author
During what promises to be an enlightening and entertaining evening, two brilliant and sophisticated men with opinions on a number of subjects converse in an unrehearsed, informal setting.
Tuesday, October 28, 8:00: SOLD OUT
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Lecture
The Language of Love in the Italian Renaissance
Philippe de Montebello, director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Isabella Rossellini,
model, actress, writer, filmmaker, and wildlife activist
Poetry and art were inextricably linked in the Renaissance, and never more so than when the subject was love. Artists were inspired by the language of Boccaccio, Petrarch, Pietro Bembo, and Pietro Aretino, and poets in turn looked to the ravishing paintings of Botticelli, Palma il Vecchio, and Titian for their imagery. Philippe de Montebello and Isabella Rossellini read in Italian, English, and French from great love poems and dialogues on the nature of love, as well as from the immensely popular bawdy verses of the period.
Tuesday, December 9, 8:00: SOLD OUT
This program is made possible in part by Robert S Pirie.
"Philippe de Montebello: A Triptych" is made possible in part by the David Berg Foundation.
For subscription program tickets call (212) 570-3949, Monday–Saturday, 9:30–5:00, and Sunday, 12:00–5:00. You may also visit the Concerts & Lectures box office in the Museum's Great Hall, Tuesday–Thursday, 10:00–4:30, Friday–Saturday, 10:00–7:00, and Sunday, 12:00–5:00, or go to www.metmuseum.org/tickets.
GALLERY TALKS
Each gallery talk is given by a Museum curator or conservator, who discusses art from his/her department on view in the exhibition. Meet at exhibition entrance, The Tisch Galleries, second floor.
Friday, November 7, 10:00. Jeff L. Rosenheim (photographs)
Thursday, November 13, 11:00. Soyoung Lee (Korean and other Asian art)
Friday, November 14, 10:00. Sabine Rewald (Caspar David Friedrich)
Tuesday, November 18, 11:00. Alisa LaGamma (African art)
Friday, November 21, 10:00. Daniëlle O. Kisluk-Grosheide (European furniture)
Tuesday, December 2, 11:00. Stuart W. Pyhrr (arms and armor)
Tuesday, January 6, 11:00. Lisa M. Messinger (Abstract Expressionism)
Wednesday, January 7, 11:00. Keith Christiansen (Italian painting)
Tuesday, January 13, 11:00. J. Kenneth Moore (musical instruments)
Tuesday, January 20, 11:00. Marsha Hill and Ann Heywood (Egyptian art)
Tuesday, January 27, 11:00. Carrie Rebora Barratt (American painting)
Thursday, January 29, 11:00. Kathryn Calley Galitz (nineteenth-century European painting)
Friday, January 30, 11:00. Peter M. Kenny (American furniture)
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
All screenings occur in the Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education.
Each one-hour compilation tells the stories behind the Museum's acquisitions of notable works
of art during Philippe de Montebello's tenure as director. All films directed by Christopher Noey.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Acquisitions Fund Benefit Videos (1999–2002)
Tuesday, October 28, 2:00
Thursday, January 8, 2:00
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Acquisitions Fund Benefit Videos (2003–2004)
Thursday, October 30, 2:00
Tuesday, January 13, 2:00
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Acquisitions Fund Benefit Videos (2005–2007)
Thursday, November 6, 2:00
Thursday, January 15, 2:00
AUDIO GUIDE
Use the Audio Guide in the exhibition and hear the stories behind some of the Museum's acquisitions. Listen to lively one-on-one conversations between Philippe de Montebello and Museum curators on works ranging from ancient Egyptian reliefs and 19th-century photography to Peter Paul Rubens and Jasper Johns.
For families and younger audiences (ages 7–12), special Storytime at the Met episodes are also
available. Philippe de Montebello recounts myths, legends, and fairytales related to three works
in the exhibition.
The Audio Guide for this exhibition is available for daily rental: $7.00 for the general public;
$6.00 for Museum Members; $6.00 for groups of 14 or fewer; $5.00 for children under 12;
$4.00 for groups of 15 or more.
The Audio Guide is free to visitors who are blind, partially sighted, or hard of hearing. Audio Guide players have volume controls and headsets. Neck loops for hearing aids with T-switches are available upon request. Regular and large-print scripts of Audio Guide programming are also available upon request and are free to Deaf visitors.
To learn more about extended conversations between the Director and Museum curators, podcasts, and Storytime at the Met episodes available online, see the Website section on the following page.
TALLERES EDUCATIVOS PARA LA FAMILIA EN ESPAÑOL
El Departamento de Educación del Museo los invita a participar en el programa para la familia en español titulado El Primer Contacto con el Arte. Los talleres educativos van dirigidos a niños entre seis y doce años de edad, acompañados de un adulto. Cada sábado estará dedicado a un tema en particular, en una zona determinada del Museo. Los niños también tendrán la oportunidad de dibujar y participar en actividades didácticas. Nos reuniremos en la recepción del Centro Educativo Uris, cuya entrada se encuentra en la calle 81 y la Quinta Avenida.
Si desean obtener más información o reservar plaza, por favor comuníquense llamando al
(212) 650-2833.
Arte y movimiento—Pintura: Retrato de familia
sábado, el 10 de enero, de 11:30 de la mañana a 1:00 de la tarde
SERVICES FOR VISITORS WITH DISABILITIES
"Picture This!" A Workshop for Visitors Who Are Blind or Partially Sighted
Participants learn about works in the exhibition through description and discussion.
Thursday, November 13, 2:00–4:00
This program is free, but places are limited and reservations are required. Please call (212) 879-5500,
ext. 3561 or email access@metmuseum.org.
The Museum is committed to serving all audiences. Please call us about services, including Sign
Language–interpreted programs, Verbal Imaging Tours, the Touch Collection, and other programs.
Voice: (212) 879-5500, ext. 3561; TTY: (212) 570-3828
NOLEN LIBRARY IN
THE RUTH AND HAROLD D. URIS CENTER FOR EDUCATION
Nolen Library has information about the Museum's collection, special exhibitions, and a
Teacher Resource Center with a circulating collection for educators. There is also a Children's Reading Room, a specially designed space for families to read together from books in the
library's collection. For further information please call (212) 570-3788.
WEBSITE
Special Feature
The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions
www.metmuseum.org/special/philippe_de_montebello_years/index.aspx
Audio Conversations
A special series of eleven interviews between Philippe de Montebello and the Museum's curators provides an inside look into the Museum's collection. Each conversation highlights a particular work of art that is featured in the exhibition. Listen to the latest interview at www.metmuseum.org/special/philippe_de_montebello_years/special_features_audio.aspx.
Family Audio
Families and younger audiences (ages 7–12) may listen to special Storytime at the Met episodes,
in which Philippe de Montebello recounts myths, legends, and fairytales related to three works
in the exhibition. Listen to the latest episode at www.metmuseum.org/special/philippe_de_montebello_years/special_features_audio.aspx.
Webisodes
The public television series Great Museums has created a series of webisodes that offer a sneak peak of its upcoming behind-the-scenes look at the planning and installation of the exhibition. The full, one-hour episode of Great Museums dedicated to the exhibition will air in spring 2009. Watch the latest webisode at www.metmuseum.org/special/philippe_de_montebello_years/special_features.aspx.
Related Video
The series of fascinating stories behind some of the Museum's greatest recent acquisitions are introduced and narrated by Philippe de Montebello. These videos provide yet another example of the Director's dedication to the Museum's curators and to the strengthening of the permanent collection. Watch the videos at www.metmuseum.org/special/philippe_de_montebello_years/special_features.aspx.
RSS Feed
Subscribe to the RSS feed dedicated to this exhibition to receive all related video and audio content as it becomes available, as well as notifications of other new content that is added to www.metmuseum.org/philippe_de_montebello_years/index.aspx.
Online Catalogue
For a description of the Online Catalogue, see the first page.
Visit the online catalogue at www.metmuseum.org/special/philippe_de_montebello_years/exhibition/images.aspx.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
As part of his goal to make scholarly resources available to the public, Mr. de Montebello supported the establishment of the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated by The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The Museum's curatorial, conservation, and education staff—the largest team of art experts anywhere in the world—research and write the Timeline, which is an invaluable reference and research tool for students, educators, scholars, and anyone interested in the study of art history and related subjects.
For further information about our programs, visit the Museum's website at www.metmuseum.org.
Press resources