Museum Skepticism: A History of the Display of Art in Public Galleries

by David Carrier

In Museum Skepticism , art historian David Carrier traces the birth, evolution, and decline of the public art museum as an institution meant to spark democratic debate and discussion. Carrier contends that since the inception of the public art museum during the French Revolution, its development has depended on on the expansion of collections, particularly to include works representing non-European cultures, and on the proliferation of art museums around the globe. Arguing that this expansionist project has peaked, he asserts that art museums must now find new ways of making high art relevant to contemporary lives. Ideas and inspiration may be found, he suggests, in mass entertainment such as popular music and movies. Carrier illuminates the public role of art museums by describing the ways they influence how art is through their architecture, their collections, the narratives they offer museum visitors. He insists that an understanding of the art museum must take into account the roles of collectors, curators, and museum architects. Toward that end, he offers a series of case studies, showing how particular museums and their collections evolved. Among those who figure prominently are Baron Dominique Vivant Denon, the first director of the Louvre; Bernard Berenson, whose connoisseurship helped Isabella Stewart Gardner found her museum in Boston; Ernest Fenollosa, who assembled much of the Asian art collection now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Albert Barnes, the distinguished collector of modernist painting; and Richard Meier, architect of the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles. Carrier’s learned consideration of what the art museum is and has been provides the basis for understanding the radical transformation of its public role now under way.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Grad School

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[James G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Museum Skepticism is a slow amble through a series of names, places, issues, paintings, historical figures, and cities about which I care deeply. The tone is extremely academic, but it had the familiar ring of various required readings from courses past. I was diving into this for pure pleasure. It provided lots of important opportunities for positive reflection. The book is a difficult read; inherently fighting with itself, exploring skepticism's relevance. I am giving it four stars, but can't really recommend it to anyone :)

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

... very academic reading. It does make the argument well that the location of an individual piece of artwork influences the way we interpret its meaning.