Museums Are a Platform for Art, Not Social Protest

I’ve spilled endless pixels exploring why so many art museums in America remain shuttered to the public they’re supposed to serve. The art’s there for the edification of the public, after all. That’s why the philanthropy that funds museums is tax-exempt. Are the top brass lazy? Lots of staff in museums have it made, I know, collecting fat paychecks while Zooming every once in a while.

One curator friend of mine is painting landscapes. Another has taught herself the art of pedicure. Extreme baking, piano, Proust, online bridge, fishing . . . the lucky duckies among my museum friends are tanned, toned, and fully rested. Why spoil the party? The Louvre, the Vatican, the Hermitage, and the Uffizi are open, though, as are the Colosseum, the Parthenon, the Great Wall of China, and Disney World. Why can they do it, and so many American museums won’t?

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

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

Featured Tags

Manage following

Art

I’ve spilled endless pixels exploring why so many art museums in America remain shuttered to the public they’re supposed to serve. The art’s there for the edification of the public, after all. That’s why the philanthropy that funds museums is tax-exempt. Are the top brass lazy? Lots of staff in museums have it made, I know, collecting fat paychecks while Zooming every once in a while.

One curator friend of mine is painting landscapes. Another has taught herself the art of pedicure. Extreme baking, piano, Proust, online bridge, fishing . . . the lucky duckies among my museum friends are tanned, toned, and fully rested. Why spoil the party? The Louvre, the Vatican, the Hermitage, and the Uffizi are open, though, as are the Colosseum, the Parthenon, the Great Wall of China, and Disney World. Why can they do it, and so many American museums won’t?