Posted on 09/11/2019 5:33:47 PM PDT by ml/nj
I visited the NY Historical Society today for the first (and probably last) time. When I paid to get in, I told the lady who took my money that I was embarrassed to say the I had never been there before and I asked some basic questions about the museum.
I mostly knew that the museum housed the Thomas Cole Course of Empire paintings which was why I went there but I did expect a reasonable historical collection (deeds, letters, etc.*). But my first stop in one of these museums is usually their book store. Brace yourself!
Here is part of one of their bookshelves:
This isn't even the whole collection of candidate books. I didn't want to be too conspicuous taking photos and be thrown out before I got to see the Cole paintings. I asked some old bookstore lady if they had (NYer) Trump's book. She fumbled through some unrelated books on a lower shelf and told me the must be out of them. (probably because they never ordered any in the first place!) I asked this airhead if they had any books that contained images of their collection. She told me the collection was too vast for such a book. (Remember that the Metropolitan Museum of Art is just across Central Park from this place. I have books from there, from the Louvre, the Hermitage, our National Gallery, from the Brits' National Gallery, and others. But their collection is too vast!) I asked if they had any books with images of the Cole paintings. Some guy overheard and he held up a book with three-inch square pages. What a joke!
Fortunately the Cole paintings I wanted to see were on display. Maybe they had 50 other paintings on display.
The entire second floor was given over to some LGBTQXYZZY exhibit. This is history?
ML/NJ
* I would have expected a collection similar is scope to the Confederate History Museum in Charleston, SC., but this was not it.
ML/NJ
Wow! A collection from the greatest US authors!!
Political criminals.
the collection was too vast for such a book
Hilarious
I have books from MOMA, Louvre, Hermitage, Prado, etc.
Very large buildings, not much to see...
The irony of that “book” collection, at the location of The decline of Empire, is that all of those “authors” promote and celebrate the cosmopolitan decadence and degeneracy that cause nations to crumble.
Andrew Jackson was supposed to be the unstated target of the Course of Empire paintings, but, Jackson actually was one of the most important Presidents for establishing American greatness.
I’ve been there to do research once or twice.
They have a pretty good collection of manuscripts.
On the bright side, all of them will be history real soon.
ML/NJ
Maybe in their library, which is off limits to the unwashed.
ML/NJ
They have a manuscripts/reading room on the 2nd floor IIRC.
Cultural Marxism was addressed in “Red Nightmare” and it was considered paranoia and a joke to think that churches and museums would become revisionist history centers to glorify The Communist Party.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgR4apcz_Ew
Years ago I went to the local Barnes and Nobel to buy one of Rush Limbaugh's books. I knew it was high on the best-seller list so I went to that part of the store but didn't find it. A male LGTBXYZABC type employee walked by and I ask him if they had the book. He threw his head back and said, "Tssssk, we have them over here. There's three head-high stacks of them! I have no idea why they ordered so many!" Another guy overheard and followed us over to the location of the three stacks. There were only 2 left; I took one and the follower took the other one.
I have also been to museums such as you mention. The museum stores always have books about their collections, from small to large, with prices to match. I think that these sales are a major revenue source.
My interest is western art, and there are many collections in museums from large to small. There is a certain painting that I am interested in, for its historical representation of my town. There are some lo-res images of the painting online, but he gained his fame decades later.
Would you think that the museum shop where the original is might have such book of his works? Or prints, even if having to order? No, in fact all they sell are coffee cups and other trinkets. Of course they have an enforced ban on cameras and phones, “to protect their works”. There are no exceptions, they claim.
Funny, I was just in the Louvre and several other museums in Paris. All they forbid is flash.
So, those lo-res images? They are sales tool for repro shops in Dalen China. Giclee or oils, your choice. Pick your sizes. Frames if you like. The copyright has expired due to age, but it probably makes little difference to the Chinese.
If you ever wondered where those oils of Renoirs, Van Goghs, etc come from, now you know. Not to mention many unknown artists.
The price for an oil, original size, nicely framed and shipped with the right to approve a proof beforehand, is less than it would cost to visit the museum, pay admission and surreptitiously sneak a pic. 6 hrs one way, so there would be overnight expenses.
I guess what I’m saying is that some museums are not seeing revenue sources. I think they are depending on donors and their board, and they are putting their whole mission at risk if their endowment fails.
Seems like steam escaping!
Hard to know what is in their permanent collection. (A book would have been nice!) Apparently most of what they have is not on display.
ML/NJ
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