A former Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art reveals his bold and brash life at its pinnacle: the clandestine deals which secured blockbuster exhibitions for the museum and made him a legend. Photos.

Hoving has a steam-roller personality, the energy of nuclear fission and no small amount of self-confidence. His educational background -- Princeton and an archeological expedition or two in Europe -- isn't as impressive as you'd expect, but he makes up any shortcomings with old-fashioned chutzpah.

After some experience in minor jobs and a city job with the Parks Department, he's told he may be selected as director of the Metropolitan so he looks the place over and makes some notes: "The museum needs reform. Sprucing up. Dynamics. Electricity. The place is moribund. Gray. It's dying. The morale of staff is low. The energy seems to have vanished. You've been missing all the fine exhibits...."

This book shows how MOMA gets from where it was then to what it is now -- the politics, infighting, backbiting, sneaking, smuggling and downright stealing it takes to make a museum one of the finest in the world. It's also a fairly realistic look at the glittering personalities and the haute monde of the New York City of a few decades ago.

This is a rousing tale that should hold the interest of any reader, art lover or no. Never mind that Hoving doesn't hesitate to toot his own horn. This is, after all, his book. Even taking the stories with a massive grain of salt, they're always riveting and vastly amusing. No one will ever say of Thomas Hoving that he has no opinion on the people and the issues of the art world or that he hesitates to express them.

I can't imagine anyone not being fascinated by this marvelous picture of the fabulous and often sham world of art museums and the people who support them and run them.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:


Egotistical,but Interesting  Apr 07, 1999
This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the politics that go on in a world-class museum. Hoving weaves a fascinating tale that makes for the best late night reading. The only problem is that Hoving's ego plays just as big a role in the book as does the famous "hot pot" the museum illicitly acquired from Italy. Overall, however, it is an excellent book. If you like this one, you'll also like his book on art forgery, "False Impressions".

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