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Museum: Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
An ?intriguing? oral portrait of the people behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art ( Entertainment Weekly )
Using more than fifty interviews, award-winning writer Danny Danziger creates a fascinating mosaic of the people behind New York?s magnificent Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the aristocratic, acerbic director of the museum, Philippe de Montebello, to the curators who have a deep knowledge and passionate appreciation of their collections, from the security guards to the philanthropists who keep the museum?s financial life blood flowing, Danziger brings to life this extraordinary world through the words of those who are devoted to making the Met the American institution it surely is.
Using more than fifty interviews, award-winning writer Danny Danziger creates a fascinating mosaic of the people behind New York?s magnificent Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the aristocratic, acerbic director of the museum, Philippe de Montebello, to the curators who have a deep knowledge and passionate appreciation of their collections, from the security guards to the philanthropists who keep the museum?s financial life blood flowing, Danziger brings to life this extraordinary world through the words of those who are devoted to making the Met the American institution it surely is.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
November 1, 2019
An impeccably edited collection of interviews of people involved with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ranging from servers at the Met's cafe all the way up to the top. Humor, curiosity, and the unabashed appreciation of art permeates the entire volume. Each interview covers 2-5 pages, so it's an easy read between other projects. The interviews are transcribed and so Danziger's voice is nowhere to be found on the pages, but it nonetheless feels as if his wry sense of humor and sense of pacing nonetheless makes itself heard. I'll be looking out for other projects with Danziger's deftly curatorial touch.
September 13, 2015
I recently visited NY for a brief vacation. It was my first time back in the city for almost a decade, but I didn't want to overplan it or run around being a crazy tourist. I wanted to relax, observe the city, and absorb the East Coast perspective. And of course I wanted to wander around the Met. However, even if you are a museum person, the Met can be overwhelming and exhausting, and the crowds can be oppressive. So how do you find a slant, a way of seeing, that translates into a memorable experience instead of just a flood of impressions?
This book did the trick for me. I visited the Met for a few hours on one of my first days, then again for an entire day just before the end of my trip. In between, I read this book and loved it. If you have ever wondered what goes into curating a special exhibit with priceless objects from collections around the world, what work goes into the making of the text descriptions and audio guides, or even where those elaborate flower arrangement in the front entrance hall come from, this book gives you those insights at a personal level. You learn how it all comes together through a series of fascinating character studies of the people who live and work to make the museum the phenomenon that it is. I found myself making notes about individual art objects I wanted to seek out on my visit, bookmarking pages to reread in certain rooms -- yes, I'm such a nerd, I know. But I'm not an art nerd, I'm an experience nerd, if that's a thing.
Things I discovered because of this book that I otherwise would not have seen or appreciated nearly as much:
-- Art of the Arab Lands: Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia. Curator Michael Barry discusses how his experiences shaped his passion for Islamic art. The galleries were extensively reworked and reopened in 2011 to bring together a collection made up entirely of masterpieces that would each be a highlight in a gallery anywhere else. What an exquisite collection of beautiful and intricate objects. How can you not catch your breath at this?
-- The American Wing. One of my favorite parts of this vast wing of the museum were the series of rooms full of paintings and sculpture organized around periods and innovations because the audio guide for this portion of the museum was perfectly prepared for the browser. It offered an overview of each gallery, calling out several paintings or objects in turn, allowing the listener the flexibility to wander a room and find favorite pieces.
-- The Cloisters. A lot of people skip the Cloisters because they're a bit out of the way, but the subway journey north strikes me as an appropriate pilgrimage for this place. Go when the flowers are blooming to fully appreciate the medieval gardens. Although there wasn't an interview with one of the gardeners in Danziger's book, I found myself observing one work and imagining what she might say if interviewed about what it is like to tend a garden full of medieval remedies, herbs, and poisons.
Even if you live in NY and can go to the Met anytime, pick up this book to get a whole series of new perspectives on all aspects of the museum. I challenge you to read this and not be incredibly impressed, moved, and ready to see.
This book did the trick for me. I visited the Met for a few hours on one of my first days, then again for an entire day just before the end of my trip. In between, I read this book and loved it. If you have ever wondered what goes into curating a special exhibit with priceless objects from collections around the world, what work goes into the making of the text descriptions and audio guides, or even where those elaborate flower arrangement in the front entrance hall come from, this book gives you those insights at a personal level. You learn how it all comes together through a series of fascinating character studies of the people who live and work to make the museum the phenomenon that it is. I found myself making notes about individual art objects I wanted to seek out on my visit, bookmarking pages to reread in certain rooms -- yes, I'm such a nerd, I know. But I'm not an art nerd, I'm an experience nerd, if that's a thing.
Things I discovered because of this book that I otherwise would not have seen or appreciated nearly as much:
-- Art of the Arab Lands: Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia. Curator Michael Barry discusses how his experiences shaped his passion for Islamic art. The galleries were extensively reworked and reopened in 2011 to bring together a collection made up entirely of masterpieces that would each be a highlight in a gallery anywhere else. What an exquisite collection of beautiful and intricate objects. How can you not catch your breath at this?
-- The American Wing. One of my favorite parts of this vast wing of the museum were the series of rooms full of paintings and sculpture organized around periods and innovations because the audio guide for this portion of the museum was perfectly prepared for the browser. It offered an overview of each gallery, calling out several paintings or objects in turn, allowing the listener the flexibility to wander a room and find favorite pieces.
-- The Cloisters. A lot of people skip the Cloisters because they're a bit out of the way, but the subway journey north strikes me as an appropriate pilgrimage for this place. Go when the flowers are blooming to fully appreciate the medieval gardens. Although there wasn't an interview with one of the gardeners in Danziger's book, I found myself observing one work and imagining what she might say if interviewed about what it is like to tend a garden full of medieval remedies, herbs, and poisons.
Even if you live in NY and can go to the Met anytime, pick up this book to get a whole series of new perspectives on all aspects of the museum. I challenge you to read this and not be incredibly impressed, moved, and ready to see.
October 1, 2017
What a disappointing and lazy book!
To be fair, the author writes in his introduction that he was in NY visiting friends and thought "I should write a book about people who work at a museum" and then interviewed people who worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then went home and typed up the transcripts and took out his questions (and presumably the "ahs" and "umms.") And that's what he did.
That's all. That's it. After this brief introduction there is not ONE WORD of analysis or synthesis or other intellectual work contributed by the author. The interview transcripts are spelled right and typed neatly and but seem to be the result of the author going up to employees and saying "I'm interviewing people who work at the Met. Tell me about yourself" and accepting whatever answer the employee decided to give.
As a result at least 25% of what these people talk about has VERY LITTLE to do with their jobs. Still that's better than another 25% that has NOTHING whatsoever to do with their job or with the museum. There's a lot of "well, I grew up in Oklahoma" or "I have a wife and two kids at home and they are really my pride and joy" or "gosh, I guess my hobbies are travel and going to the ballet" or "well, before this job I worked for the NY police department for 20 years and boy oh boy THAT was sure something, let me tell you about it ..." One important donor spends half of her interview talking about her family's automobiles. A man who runs the mechanical operations of the building talks about his cocaine habit in his (pre-museum) youth. Someone else spends a lot of time evangelizing about the church he and some friends have started in the Bronx.
All of this is fine and they all seem like nice people but none of it has anything to do with why I picked up the book.
As for the stuff that IS about the museum, it tends toward the "you know, if I had to choose I'd say my FAVORITE picture/sculpture/ancient Assyrian cuneiform Babylonian tablet is _____" and "well, I was looking for a job and saw an ad in the paper and applied and I guess they like my interview and I got hired." There are bits and pieces of interesting information about the work these people do scattered amongst the pages but they seem to be stray accidents and are few and far between. Certainly not worth even the minimal amount of time it takes to breeze through the 50 or so interview transcripts.
Also, I'm not a big "where are the illustrations?" kind of reader, but... where are the illustration? It's a book about an art museum in which many people refer to specific pieces of art.
I love museums and I love a good behind the scenes "this is how this organization really does its work" sort of book. This book's claim to that genre is quite disingenuous. Pass this one by.
To be fair, the author writes in his introduction that he was in NY visiting friends and thought "I should write a book about people who work at a museum" and then interviewed people who worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then went home and typed up the transcripts and took out his questions (and presumably the "ahs" and "umms.") And that's what he did.
That's all. That's it. After this brief introduction there is not ONE WORD of analysis or synthesis or other intellectual work contributed by the author. The interview transcripts are spelled right and typed neatly and but seem to be the result of the author going up to employees and saying "I'm interviewing people who work at the Met. Tell me about yourself" and accepting whatever answer the employee decided to give.
As a result at least 25% of what these people talk about has VERY LITTLE to do with their jobs. Still that's better than another 25% that has NOTHING whatsoever to do with their job or with the museum. There's a lot of "well, I grew up in Oklahoma" or "I have a wife and two kids at home and they are really my pride and joy" or "gosh, I guess my hobbies are travel and going to the ballet" or "well, before this job I worked for the NY police department for 20 years and boy oh boy THAT was sure something, let me tell you about it ..." One important donor spends half of her interview talking about her family's automobiles. A man who runs the mechanical operations of the building talks about his cocaine habit in his (pre-museum) youth. Someone else spends a lot of time evangelizing about the church he and some friends have started in the Bronx.
All of this is fine and they all seem like nice people but none of it has anything to do with why I picked up the book.
As for the stuff that IS about the museum, it tends toward the "you know, if I had to choose I'd say my FAVORITE picture/sculpture/ancient Assyrian cuneiform Babylonian tablet is _____" and "well, I was looking for a job and saw an ad in the paper and applied and I guess they like my interview and I got hired." There are bits and pieces of interesting information about the work these people do scattered amongst the pages but they seem to be stray accidents and are few and far between. Certainly not worth even the minimal amount of time it takes to breeze through the 50 or so interview transcripts.
Also, I'm not a big "where are the illustrations?" kind of reader, but... where are the illustration? It's a book about an art museum in which many people refer to specific pieces of art.
I love museums and I love a good behind the scenes "this is how this organization really does its work" sort of book. This book's claim to that genre is quite disingenuous. Pass this one by.
December 26, 2021
©2005 gift
Each chapter features a person who works or serves in some capacity in the Met. Fascinating to get all the viewpoints, fun to read what "one thing to save if a fire" thoughts of some, and most fun for me was the references to the many art pieces and their creator -- which sent me searching online to learn!! I learned a lot because I had to stop so often to look things up!!
The only thing that made me sad was the realization that the book is already 16-17 years old, so I looked up who was the new director of the Met and read his background. Oh, and so many people working there came from other countries. A fun, fascinating read for one who loves art (and now thinks she should have been an art curator!!)
Each chapter features a person who works or serves in some capacity in the Met. Fascinating to get all the viewpoints, fun to read what "one thing to save if a fire" thoughts of some, and most fun for me was the references to the many art pieces and their creator -- which sent me searching online to learn!! I learned a lot because I had to stop so often to look things up!!
The only thing that made me sad was the realization that the book is already 16-17 years old, so I looked up who was the new director of the Met and read his background. Oh, and so many people working there came from other countries. A fun, fascinating read for one who loves art (and now thinks she should have been an art curator!!)
April 24, 2021
An interesting way to introduce someone to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I often found myself reaching for my phone to look up the art the interviewed individuals were talking about. Their favorites were not always what would catch the eye of the typical visitor to the museum. A fun read that will definitely lead me to more books about the art and artists represented in this iconic building destination.
January 19, 2024
The author did a great job at making the interviews easily understandable and concise. He also includes a interviews of people who do a variety of things at the Met including, florists, firemen, curators, trustees, directors, sales management, and customer service.
December 30, 2021
Every time I visit a museum I wonder about the people behind the scenes. My husband gifted me with this book and I was so excited!
Sigh.
I disagree with most of the other reviewers of this book. I don't mind digressions, or learning about someone's childhood and what led them to become a part of the Met. What I hated was the focus on rich people. Yes, I know, art is expensive, and you need rich people to pay for acquisitions. And I love museums of all kinds, and I know they wouldn't exist without someone ponying up a lot of cash. But there are other books that can tell me about art at the Met and how pieces are acquired. What I wanted to know was, how are decisions made about things like which wall to use for a piece of art? How do we light this sculpture? How long does it take to build and arrange the actual structures needed for a show? How is everything kept spotless and safe?
The best chapters, to me, were about the "little" people. The plumber, the fireman, the florist, the waitress... the ones who show up for work everyday and keep the place running. This could have been a five-star book, because the chapters that were included about the hard-working people who are not curators, trustees, or board members were very good. Too bad Mr. Danziger didn't focus on more of the behind the scenes individuals who make more than financial contributions to the Met.
Sigh.
I disagree with most of the other reviewers of this book. I don't mind digressions, or learning about someone's childhood and what led them to become a part of the Met. What I hated was the focus on rich people. Yes, I know, art is expensive, and you need rich people to pay for acquisitions. And I love museums of all kinds, and I know they wouldn't exist without someone ponying up a lot of cash. But there are other books that can tell me about art at the Met and how pieces are acquired. What I wanted to know was, how are decisions made about things like which wall to use for a piece of art? How do we light this sculpture? How long does it take to build and arrange the actual structures needed for a show? How is everything kept spotless and safe?
The best chapters, to me, were about the "little" people. The plumber, the fireman, the florist, the waitress... the ones who show up for work everyday and keep the place running. This could have been a five-star book, because the chapters that were included about the hard-working people who are not curators, trustees, or board members were very good. Too bad Mr. Danziger didn't focus on more of the behind the scenes individuals who make more than financial contributions to the Met.
August 9, 2015
This book a series of interviews with indiividuals associated with the Met, and I expected to like it more than I did. The interviews are essentially monologs, with little or no editorial or background content other that what the interviewees provide. They are not introduced at the beginning of each chapter so takes awhile to adjust to a short lag time where you don't know if you're reading about an electrician or a trustee.
Still, I appreciated the mix - a waitress, plumber, curators, donors, director and trustees. The author is successful in providing a broad overview of what it takes to run a behemoth of a museum like the Met.
What disappointed me was the lack of depth in terms of what each each of these people actually DO every day, as well the lack of photographs to accompany each story. If a tidbit about a painting or sculpture or the building's architecture intrigues you, you'll have to google it. No doubt this was an editorial decision made to keep the price of the book down, but I for one would have been willing to pay more for a "Day in the Life of..." story line with photos.
But I'm glad Danziger wrote the book and I'd recommend it to anyone curious about the Met or any of the world's great museums.
Still, I appreciated the mix - a waitress, plumber, curators, donors, director and trustees. The author is successful in providing a broad overview of what it takes to run a behemoth of a museum like the Met.
What disappointed me was the lack of depth in terms of what each each of these people actually DO every day, as well the lack of photographs to accompany each story. If a tidbit about a painting or sculpture or the building's architecture intrigues you, you'll have to google it. No doubt this was an editorial decision made to keep the price of the book down, but I for one would have been willing to pay more for a "Day in the Life of..." story line with photos.
But I'm glad Danziger wrote the book and I'd recommend it to anyone curious about the Met or any of the world's great museums.
November 20, 2009
Visiting The Met was one of my favorite activities while at college in the NYC area, and this book makes me want to go back soon. The book’s concept is simple; the author interviewed people associated with the museum (mostly employees and trustees) and then told their stories in the first-person, each in their own chapter of usually three to five pages. So it’s an easy read that one can do in short spurts. (The only annoyance was the person’s “title” was only included in the table of contents and not in the chapter, so I had to keep flipping back and forth because the person’s role wasn’t always readily apparent.) It was interesting to learn how artwork is selected and exhibits are planned and mounted, and about the day-to-day operations of running the second largest art museum in the world. What was also striking is how devoted all the interviewees are to the museum and its mission. It was nice to read about people who truly love their jobs!
February 18, 2017
I appreciate the democracy with which Danziger approached this collection of interviews but I don't think more than one janitorial/maintenance crew chapter was needed. Due to the short length of each chapter, one couldn't get into the interesting "behind the scenes" details of some of the more intriguing people that work at the museum, which was highly disappointing. As far as I can tell, Danziger did not give his interviewees any parameters as to what they should discuss and so we are rewarded with curators of entire wings of the Met talking about summer vacations from their youth and not their expertise. The only positive thing that came from my overarching disappointment with this book has been my renewed interest in reading "Making the Mummies Dance" a memoir by Thomas Hoving, the past Director of the Met. Good Directors can do a lot of things but they all seem to at least be able to spin an exciting tale.
May 23, 2015
Almost gave this five stars, but i kept wanting more detail on what all these staff members of the museum actually do. You get bits and pieces of that, but not enough for my curiosity, But it was really fun to get a sense of the wide range of backgrounds and personalities that keep the Met running, and just how many people and different roles that takes. Some of the people were totally delightful.
September 13, 2016
I quite liked this book because the concept was simple - providing short descriptions of the various kinds of people working at the museum. However, because there are no introductions of which job they have at the beginning of each chapter, I had to go back to the index to find that out which was slightly annoying. However, I loved reading all the different interviews and found the very personal way in which the interviewees were presented very interesting and inspiring.
December 26, 2024
i have issues with both the content and execution of this book.
starting with execution bc the content will make more sense afterwards: this book purports to be a look at the people who run the met from the trustees to the janitors, but there's an overwhelming proportion of trustees and curators in it. which, admittedly, are probably the people with the most time and interest in being included in a book like this, but there was only one person for education and one person for marketing. notably, no one in development. there was one trustee who was involved with development who talked about the staff in a super condescending way, like "oh they're doing a great job but they can't really close the deals of course because they don't have the experience making million dollar gifts themselves" like hello? sir please. and of course i'm biased because i myself work in dev at an art museum but like. i do think dev people know the most dirty secrets and that must be part of why they're not included in this book, but also man. what a kick in the nuts.
with content: it seems like everyone in this book is on the older side of middle-aged, which shows in their personal life stories. everyone fell into this industry one way or another - either it just happened to work out for them even though they had no experience, or their families were deeply deeply involved already (shoutout to the lady whose dad was director of the essex museum). there is no representation in this book of anyone who actually ground their way up the way we're supposed to do now, the way that we can't get jobs without doing. how in the hell are these people just falling into these cushy curatorial jobs at the FUCKING MET???
this does circle back to execution actually because there's every chance that the younger people who actually got their jobs by going to school and getting their degrees and slowly working their way up are way too overworked to agree to interviews. or maybe they're not allowed to because of the things they might say. or maybe their stories just weren't interesting enough.
i am really truly starting to despise art museums lol
starting with execution bc the content will make more sense afterwards: this book purports to be a look at the people who run the met from the trustees to the janitors, but there's an overwhelming proportion of trustees and curators in it. which, admittedly, are probably the people with the most time and interest in being included in a book like this, but there was only one person for education and one person for marketing. notably, no one in development. there was one trustee who was involved with development who talked about the staff in a super condescending way, like "oh they're doing a great job but they can't really close the deals of course because they don't have the experience making million dollar gifts themselves" like hello? sir please. and of course i'm biased because i myself work in dev at an art museum but like. i do think dev people know the most dirty secrets and that must be part of why they're not included in this book, but also man. what a kick in the nuts.
with content: it seems like everyone in this book is on the older side of middle-aged, which shows in their personal life stories. everyone fell into this industry one way or another - either it just happened to work out for them even though they had no experience, or their families were deeply deeply involved already (shoutout to the lady whose dad was director of the essex museum). there is no representation in this book of anyone who actually ground their way up the way we're supposed to do now, the way that we can't get jobs without doing. how in the hell are these people just falling into these cushy curatorial jobs at the FUCKING MET???
this does circle back to execution actually because there's every chance that the younger people who actually got their jobs by going to school and getting their degrees and slowly working their way up are way too overworked to agree to interviews. or maybe they're not allowed to because of the things they might say. or maybe their stories just weren't interesting enough.
i am really truly starting to despise art museums lol
September 25, 2021
It was an interesting insight into the Metropolitan Museum of Art from the myriad perspectives of those who work for and with the museum. Author Danny Danziger incorporates a comprehensive cross-section of interviewees, from top to bottom and everything in between. Running the gamut from cleaner to director, security officer to trustee, every interview is a fresh perspective on how the Met is run and maintained, with the one constant being an appreciation of art and its many forms.
What I loved most about this book was being able to immediately feel the genuine love the interviewees have for the museum, and the real joy they have in their work. Particularly with some of the curators, it was like having a seminar class in miniature on the rise of bronze sculpture in America, or the development of photography as an art form, or analysis of each of the five Vermeer pieces that the Met holds in its collection, to name a few.
This was a thoroughly engaging book, and the only thing that could tear me away from it was searching through the Met’s online catalogue to see the artwork the various curators, trustees, and other workers referenced. It was also crazy to learn how much work and time goes into developing and hosting the special exhibits (2-4 years??), and how many exhibits and events the museum hosts annually. All this while doing the normal day-to-day of curating and preserving the two million items in their collections. I am in awe of the passion all of these people have for their work and their fields of study, and I can certainly see why Danziger paused his writing on another book in order to dive into the rich inner workings of the Museum and its caretakers. I definitely recommend it as a light, easy read.
What I loved most about this book was being able to immediately feel the genuine love the interviewees have for the museum, and the real joy they have in their work. Particularly with some of the curators, it was like having a seminar class in miniature on the rise of bronze sculpture in America, or the development of photography as an art form, or analysis of each of the five Vermeer pieces that the Met holds in its collection, to name a few.
This was a thoroughly engaging book, and the only thing that could tear me away from it was searching through the Met’s online catalogue to see the artwork the various curators, trustees, and other workers referenced. It was also crazy to learn how much work and time goes into developing and hosting the special exhibits (2-4 years??), and how many exhibits and events the museum hosts annually. All this while doing the normal day-to-day of curating and preserving the two million items in their collections. I am in awe of the passion all of these people have for their work and their fields of study, and I can certainly see why Danziger paused his writing on another book in order to dive into the rich inner workings of the Museum and its caretakers. I definitely recommend it as a light, easy read.
February 24, 2024
I loved this book but it's really not as advertised - this isn't actually much of a "behind the scenes look" but rather a bunch of interviews with museum workers. There are bits here and there that are true meta-descriptions of the nuts and bolts of the museum, and those were my favorites - the head of security, the registrar, the construction manager, the guy at the information desk. A big chunk of it is curators discussing their favorite pieces, which is still super interesting but I was really hoping for a book about how to manage all the aspects of a museum like this. Some of the interviews are mainly just about the person's own life as the head of a company or an immigrant from Central America or a waitress trying to make ends meet living in New York. It seems like the author just let his interview subjects talk about whatever they wanted instead of guiding them toward a discussion of how the museum works. I still recommend it as just a fun and meandering fascinating read, but now I feel like I need to find a book that's actually about the museum.
November 25, 2022
I am a big fan of the MET and it was really fun to get a true insider, behind the scenes look at all of the different work it takes to keep this giant, historical institution running.
From waitresses at the cafe, to curators, to the director of communications, it was interesting to gain insight from employees at all levels. The book was a little dry at times, and I wished there was a common thread that tied everything together - it felt a little random at times.
Overall, a good book a MET lover.
From waitresses at the cafe, to curators, to the director of communications, it was interesting to gain insight from employees at all levels. The book was a little dry at times, and I wished there was a common thread that tied everything together - it felt a little random at times.
Overall, a good book a MET lover.
January 9, 2023
I really liked this collection of interviews of staff and donors from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I always enjoy learning about how things work behind the scenes. Danziger included a range of people. I wish he had included the person's title/job at the beginning of each essay, but that wasn't critical. Having been to the museum in November, it was fun to realize I knew a bunch of the places discussed.
November 10, 2020
A really interesting book that reveals a lot of the behind the scenes people from the Met. I was very positively surprised at how interesting all the interviews were and this book definitely shows how much planning and love goes into a museums work.
December 14, 2022
Very interesting book. I thought the book was going to be about the museum when it is about the people who work at or are involved with the museum. Loved the stories that the people told. Worth the read.
April 16, 2025
Interesting and informative. The format with simple interviews of everyone from the trustees to the janitors, all the curators in between. Danzinger gave such a broad look of the Met, but somehow made it very intimate. I couldn't put it down.
July 31, 2017
I really liked that this book went thru so many jobs and really gave a great insight into the minds of the people who make the Met run.
October 12, 2020
I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you: http://www.indiebound.org
January 7, 2021
I found many of these pieces very enjoyable particularly those where the interviewees enjoyment of and engagement in their work was obvious in their words.
Read
April 15, 2022Very interesting insights to Museum positions
June 1, 2025
Very pleasant read. Small excepted interviews from the folks that work at/relate to the Met. A portrait of the museum as told by the people related to it.
September 15, 2013
As noted in other reviews (“Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon” and “We Bought a Zoo”), I am a fan of behind-the-scenes books. There’s always more than meets the eye to any experience, and it’s fascinating to discover layers of meaning that enhance an accepted, public, sometimes superficial view.
This book adds a human dimension to one of the great cultural centers of the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It consists of the personal reflections of a wide variety of staff members who tell their stories of involvement with the museum. What’s most impressive is the scope of the jobs represented: the Director and various curators are obvious subjects, but this book includes stories from a security guard, a cleaner, and a florist, as well as trustees, a waitress, a plumber, and many more. The stories are arranged alphabetically by name, which underscores the fact that when it comes to stories of human experience, no one’s is more important than anyone else’s.
From the perspective of art appreciation, the curators’ stories are very interesting and informative. (How wonderful, also, to go to the museum’s website to view and learn more about specific items mentioned.) Their passion for their collections shines through. But the museum really comes to life in the stories of those not directly associated with the art works. The various support staff are insightful in a different way, and make it clear that the museum is more than a building filled with art – it’s a community. Without exception, all the employees are proud to work there and clearly understand how their efforts support the mission of the museum and enhance the visitors’ experience. It’s a testament to the leadership there that everyone, no matter their role, speaks so highly of working there.
Visiting a museum, one obviously is focused on the collections. This book is a reminder that any human endeavor involves a wide variety of talent and skills. It not only presents a full picture of the inner workings of a great museum; it also dignifies the contributions of every staff member who brings his or her passion and commitment to create meaningful work in support of a vision.
This book adds a human dimension to one of the great cultural centers of the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It consists of the personal reflections of a wide variety of staff members who tell their stories of involvement with the museum. What’s most impressive is the scope of the jobs represented: the Director and various curators are obvious subjects, but this book includes stories from a security guard, a cleaner, and a florist, as well as trustees, a waitress, a plumber, and many more. The stories are arranged alphabetically by name, which underscores the fact that when it comes to stories of human experience, no one’s is more important than anyone else’s.
From the perspective of art appreciation, the curators’ stories are very interesting and informative. (How wonderful, also, to go to the museum’s website to view and learn more about specific items mentioned.) Their passion for their collections shines through. But the museum really comes to life in the stories of those not directly associated with the art works. The various support staff are insightful in a different way, and make it clear that the museum is more than a building filled with art – it’s a community. Without exception, all the employees are proud to work there and clearly understand how their efforts support the mission of the museum and enhance the visitors’ experience. It’s a testament to the leadership there that everyone, no matter their role, speaks so highly of working there.
Visiting a museum, one obviously is focused on the collections. This book is a reminder that any human endeavor involves a wide variety of talent and skills. It not only presents a full picture of the inner workings of a great museum; it also dignifies the contributions of every staff member who brings his or her passion and commitment to create meaningful work in support of a vision.
January 10, 2008
Though I have actually visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art more than a thousand times, my original fascination for the place has never worn off. Not talking about the artworks here but the whole institution from stem to stern.
The good thing about this book is that one hears from people on many levels and in a variety of capacities that contribute to the whole operation. For the outsider, there is much insight into the concerns and responsibilities of museum employess. Even if one is a curator and thinks he has a good idea of what a trustee does, he probably hasn't thought much about what life is like for the woman in charge of the shop or the guy who handles museum security. It's interesting to hear from curators on which objects they most treasure in their departments.
The problem is that this book tends to make the Met seem like a big happy family where most people are thinking about the ideal and not thier egos. Those of us who have been going there all thier lives may hold some of this illusion and yet we also know this place is part of the real world as well.
This book has enriched my museum-going experience but I would reccomend that anyone reading it should also read the account of the previous director, Thomas Hoving. "Making the Mummies Dance" which provides a view of the competitiveness, envy and frustration which is part of life at this hallowed institution,
The good thing about this book is that one hears from people on many levels and in a variety of capacities that contribute to the whole operation. For the outsider, there is much insight into the concerns and responsibilities of museum employess. Even if one is a curator and thinks he has a good idea of what a trustee does, he probably hasn't thought much about what life is like for the woman in charge of the shop or the guy who handles museum security. It's interesting to hear from curators on which objects they most treasure in their departments.
The problem is that this book tends to make the Met seem like a big happy family where most people are thinking about the ideal and not thier egos. Those of us who have been going there all thier lives may hold some of this illusion and yet we also know this place is part of the real world as well.
This book has enriched my museum-going experience but I would reccomend that anyone reading it should also read the account of the previous director, Thomas Hoving. "Making the Mummies Dance" which provides a view of the competitiveness, envy and frustration which is part of life at this hallowed institution,
January 29, 2009
This book is an account of how the Metropolitan Museum operates, told in individual, first person accounts by people who work there. I love the concept of the book - looking behind the scenes at the Museum through the eyes of the people who run it seemed to me an entirely appealing - and fascinating - exercise. But the book has some flaws. First and foremost, the format doesn't make a lot of sense. Essentially, the author interviewed all these people, and then took out his questions so that the interviews read as first person narratives. This leaves a lot of story telling undone - the kinds of details and insights one might expect in this sort of book are left out. The narratives are also a bit aimless. They often wander far into the personal, leaving the Museum behind, which can be interesting, but also at times feels as though the author just asked unusual questions. Finally, and most minorly, each person's position is only listed in the Table of Contents, not with their statements, so I found myself flipping back to the front every couple of pages. All that said, some of the stories here are intriguing - the florist and police officer are just as interesting as the big name trustees and the famed diector. But the book feels as though it's an early draft, with which much more could have been done.
May 2, 2011
I debated over the rating to give this book. On one hand, I ended up really liking it. On the other, it also turned out to not exactly be what's on the tin.
I went in expecting precisely what the subtitle promise: a behind the scenes look at the Met. And I got that, sort of. Actually, the book is based off a series of interviews with people who work at or for the museum. And they do talk about their jobs, or many of them do. Some of them veer so far off into the personal that they don't approach the work at all. And some of them focus more on, essentially, art history, instead of the Met in particular. The ones that do give the actual behind the scenes stuff I was looking for do deliver quite a bit of good information.
That said, the interviews were very good, and very interesting. What you end up with, more than anything else, is just how much these people love the Met. The breadth of interviewees is also interesting. I don't know that I would have thought to interview the Met's plumber. I wouldn't have thought that the Met even has its own plumbing staff! There's a security guard, someone who works the information desk, a janitor, even someone who comes in to copy the paintings.
So, it wasn't exactly what was promised, but it was a good read anyways. And it left me wanting to visit NYC, so it must have done a pretty good job there.
I went in expecting precisely what the subtitle promise: a behind the scenes look at the Met. And I got that, sort of. Actually, the book is based off a series of interviews with people who work at or for the museum. And they do talk about their jobs, or many of them do. Some of them veer so far off into the personal that they don't approach the work at all. And some of them focus more on, essentially, art history, instead of the Met in particular. The ones that do give the actual behind the scenes stuff I was looking for do deliver quite a bit of good information.
That said, the interviews were very good, and very interesting. What you end up with, more than anything else, is just how much these people love the Met. The breadth of interviewees is also interesting. I don't know that I would have thought to interview the Met's plumber. I wouldn't have thought that the Met even has its own plumbing staff! There's a security guard, someone who works the information desk, a janitor, even someone who comes in to copy the paintings.
So, it wasn't exactly what was promised, but it was a good read anyways. And it left me wanting to visit NYC, so it must have done a pretty good job there.
October 31, 2007
Reading this made me want to go back to the Met - immediately. I've only been once, and that was for a brief afternoon, during which time I went on a search for William, the blue hippo. I remember being impressed at how much information the (presumed) security guard gave me about the little figurine - and being amazed at the size of the museum. This is not so much a history of the museum as it is a series of interviews with some of the hundreds of people who work there (from curators and directors to trustess, employees in the cafeteria and custodial staff, the florists and the manager of the gift shops) and a glimpse of the museum from their individual perspectives. Some of the interviews address the museum while some are more about the individuals being interviewed. Really, really interesting if you are at all interested in art and /or art museums. The number of items in the collection and the sheer immensity of the operations (not to mention the fact that everything runs so smoothly) are really impressive. And of course there are a few art history lessons sprinkled throughout the book. I really enjoyed this book and have a new, deeper appreciation for the museum and the people behind the scenes.
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