The Museum as a Collection of Collections

Overview

What happens to artworks that were once in the possession of private collectors after they enter public institutions? While museums that are named after a single benefactor seem to require little explanation—the Frick Collection in New York or the Wallace Collection in London—encyclopedic museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Louvre can be regarded as a “collection of collections,” offering a home to works collected by private individuals in various ways.

In this talk, Guillaume Kientz, director of The Hispanic Society of America, Katherine C. Luber, director of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Per Hedström, head of exhibitions at the Nationalmuseum Sweden, explore the private collections that are now in their care, the differing ways this came to be, and discuss if it is possible, or even desirable, to convey not only the story of the collected works, but also the personality of their respective collectors.

TEFAF Talks are interactive panel discussions exploring today’s most fascinating topics in the worlds of art, antiques, and design. Paired with leading content partners, these talks showcase the knowledge of leading experts in the broader TEFAF community. This talk is presented in partnership with Apollo Magazine and moderated by Fatema Ahmed, deputy editor of Apollo Magazine.

Panelists