Art Review: New Orleans Museum of Art

In my last story on the New Orleans Museum of Art, I examined the evolution of its collection from a series of empty rooms — the museum started with very little art — to an appealing, broad-based collection of 40,000 objects.

For much of its history, now more than 100 years, directors, curators, and trustees prized edification, establishment taste, and connoisseurship. All of these are good. For years, its best museum practices aimed squarely and, by and large, exclusively at these priorities.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

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

In my last story on the New Orleans Museum of Art, I examined the evolution of its collection from a series of empty rooms — the museum started with very little art — to an appealing, broad-based collection of 40,000 objects.

For much of its history, now more than 100 years, directors, curators, and trustees prized edification, establishment taste, and connoisseurship. All of these are good. For years, its best museum practices aimed squarely and, by and large, exclusively at these priorities.