ISBN |
9781911300045 |
1911300040 |
Title |
Collecting for the public : works that made a difference : essays for Peter Hecht / edited by Bart Cornelis, Ger Luijten, Louis van Tilborgh & Tim Zeedijk ; translation by Michael Hoyle. |
Publisher and/or associated date/s |
London : Paul Holberton Publishing, 2016. |
Description |
240 pages : illustrations (black and white, and colour) ; 27 cm. |
Note |
"In association with Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris and Vereniging Rembrandt, The Hague"--Colophon. |
Some essays translated from the Dutch. |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references. |
Summary |
In this celebration of collecting, in 34 essays, renowned curators and art historians discuss the acquisition of works of art, medieval to modern, by museums in Europe and the United States - acquisitions that have made a difference, crucial acquisitions from a more distant but also the recent past. There was a time when museums might have been regarded as rather forbidding and austere centres of learning, but today they are more likely to position themselves firmly within the tourism and leisure industry with all manner of food, fun and family entertainment on offer. A high-profile museum brand often relies on a fast-changing menu of temporary exhibitions with an attractive programme of activities, cleverly marketed to ever-growing numbers of visitors. Many of these changes have been positive and beneficial but they have not been without risk to the central purpose of museums as repositories for collections that are looked after, researched and displayed with knowledge and sensitivity. The permanent collection should be the heart and soul of any museum. Nurtured and developed with intelligence, a collection can be an endless source of surprise and delight as well as a focus of local and national pride. The museum in this view is a setting for sustained encounters with objects and works of art, somewhere to be visited and revisited over the course of a lifetime, a place that helps to bind communities, with collections that are cared for and shared as a reminder of the past and a source of inspiration for the present. |
Subjects |
Curatorship |
Art museums -- Collection management -- Moral and ethical aspects |
Art museums -- Collection management -- Social aspects |
Art -- Collectors and collecting |
Museums -- Collection management |
Other Authors &/or Associated Persons |
Hecht, Peter, 1951- (honouree.) |
Cornelis, Bart (editor.) |
Luijten, Ger (editor.) |
Tilborgh, Louis van (editor.) |
Zeedijk, Tim (editor.) |
Hoyle, Michael (translator.) |
Other Corporate Bodies |
Collection Frits Lugt |
Vereniging Rembrandt |
Call number |
2018.158 |