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 centers 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 program
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. The
process of acquiring works for public collections is rarely easy in any
setting. In the face of escalating prices on the art market and
diminishing public funds it is all too easy for complacency and apathy
to settle upon the museum community. But the task of building
collections of national or local importance is never finished. It should
not be about casual 'shopping' or satisfying the whims of museum
directors or sponsors. It is about building a heritage that is richer,
more complete and more relevant for future generations; with every
successful acquisition, a museum's collection gains in strength and
character. The volume is dedicated to Peter Hecht, the great champion of
public art collections, who throughout his career has worked to show us
why museums matter and how their collections, large or small, national
or local, can make a profound difference to the lives of those who use
them. We hope that it will bring people the world over to realize the
importance of collecting for the public, locally, nationally and
internationally, and to acknowledge and encourage the role of private
individuals, associations and institutions, as well as public bodies, in
this vital endeavor.
