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NYTimes annual museums special highlights economic hardships

The annual NYTimes section on museums has a predictably somber tone: in these economic times, how do these organizations cope? I haven't read 'em all, but these are the stories directly linking museums and the current economy. Of course, there are articles on other topics too, but grouping these articles together gives a sense of the big-picture impact and the areas of museum management that must develop strategies for survival.

Shovels sit idle as some projects are delayed: economy forces museums to downsize and delay projects

Wish you were here: as resources dwindle, museums pioneer new ways to reach out

In zoo cuts, it's man vs. beast: budget cuts are forcing zoos to make tough decisions

They didn't love Lucy: In Seattle, Lucy's famous fossils fail to attract crowds

The good stuff in the back room
: Showcasing archives, museums bring out the good stuff

Taking a step-by-step approach to growth: In San Francisco, a museum director takes a pragmatic approach to growth

New York's local museums feel the pinch

Filed under  //   art market   economy   museum   recession  

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Slow growth at the Gardner


Because the will of museum founder Isabella Stewart Gardner stipulates that nothing in the collection ever be moved and no new works brought in, the frame of a Rembrandt stolen 19 years ago still hangs empty today. Photo credit: Keith Meyers/The New York Times

If a painting were stolen out of a contemporary art gallery where the walls are all white, you might say it’s a shame for that artwork. But the way that people who visit this place feel violated, it’s like somebody stole this art out of their own living room.

Ulrich Boser, author, The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World’s Largest Unsolved Art Theft

Last Sunday's New York Times looked at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and some of the difficulties it faces due to its founder's strict will, which basically requires that no changes be made to the collection and the building that houses it. A recent ruling from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts allows the museum to begin plans for a new expansion designed by Renzo Piano; this "reasonable deviation" from the will allows the museum to protect the current building from too much wear and tear.

The New York Times profile also dives into the story of the theft of 13 artworks that have remained missing for 19 years. In accordance with Gardner's will, the frames that housed the missing paintings are displayed bare. Gardner's wishes also preserve her curatorial eye and personal arrangements, and the missing paintings evoke an intimate and emotional response as hinted in the picture above.

Filed under  //   art theft   art market   boston   museum   museum expansion  

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