Art Review: Helen Frankenthaler at Dulwich Picture Gallery

Last week I wrote about the Dulwich Picture Gallery. It’s a wonderful place, and I had a great time. My only quibble was its permanent-collection interpretation, which seemed to have been taken over by staff focused on childhood education. Now, I‘m acculturated to the old ways of American and English museums. In my distant youth, didactic labels in the permanent-collection galleries just weren’t done, aside from the name of the artist, the title, and a line crediting the donor, if it was a gift. Visitors were empowered to take what they could from an object, based on their intelligence and their mood. Labels were distractions and, worse, curatorial interventions. A good painting has lots of meanings. A 50-word label can’t help but impose only one.

Didactic labels are common now, and they’re never good. At Dulwich, I can only call them baby talk, with a few that are inanities. It’s best to say nothing. Everyone has a mobile device, anyway. If a visitor wants to learn more about Poussin’s Seven Sacraments, three of which are on view, they’ve got more information at their command than centuries of popes. Or the visitor can let these splendid things speak for themselves.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

Last week I wrote about the Dulwich Picture Gallery. It’s a wonderful place, and I had a great time. My only quibble was its permanent-collection interpretation, which seemed to have been taken over by staff focused on childhood education. Now, I‘m acculturated to the old ways of American and English museums. In my distant youth, didactic labels in the permanent-collection galleries just weren’t done, aside from the name of the artist, the title, and a line crediting the donor, if it was a gift. Visitors were empowered to take what they could from an object, based on their intelligence and their mood. Labels were distractions and, worse, curatorial interventions. A good painting has lots of meanings. A 50-word label can’t help but impose only one.

Didactic labels are common now, and they’re never good. At Dulwich, I can only call them baby talk, with a few that are inanities. It’s best to say nothing. Everyone has a mobile device, anyway. If a visitor wants to learn more about Poussin’s Seven Sacraments, three of which are on view, they’ve got more information at their command than centuries of popes. Or the visitor can let these splendid things speak for themselves.