What Williams Reunion-Goers Think of Covid Lockdowns & Museum Turmoil

Every couple of months, I write about news in the art world. My Williams art-history reunion is hardly art-world news, but I saw many past and present museum directors and senior curators and learned a lot. It’s news to me. I never dwell on the past, ha, ha, but the topic of the Chinese-coronavirus mass hysteria, hypnosis, and hallucinations loomed, especially the reckless lockdowns that closed every museum, some for nearly two years. My reunion was the biggest confab of museum elites I’ve attended since I was a museum elite myself. I wanted to know what they thought.

I’ve written about the scandalous museum lockdowns many times. Purportedly pledged to public service and access, too many museums barred communities from their heritage as Covid terror, always irrational, evolved into lockdown lazy and, before long, lockdown love. Zooming workdays were just dandy for the high-salaried, direct-deposit museum class, shirt and tie from the waist up, bedroom slippers, tutus, leather ’n’ leg irons — whatever scratches the proverbial itch — from the waist down.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

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

Every couple of months, I write about news in the art world. My Williams art-history reunion is hardly art-world news, but I saw many past and present museum directors and senior curators and learned a lot. It’s news to me. I never dwell on the past, ha, ha, but the topic of the Chinese-coronavirus mass hysteria, hypnosis, and hallucinations loomed, especially the reckless lockdowns that closed every museum, some for nearly two years. My reunion was the biggest confab of museum elites I’ve attended since I was a museum elite myself. I wanted to know what they thought.

I’ve written about the scandalous museum lockdowns many times. Purportedly pledged to public service and access, too many museums barred communities from their heritage as Covid terror, always irrational, evolved into lockdown lazy and, before long, lockdown love. Zooming workdays were just dandy for the high-salaried, direct-deposit museum class, shirt and tie from the waist up, bedroom slippers, tutus, leather ’n’ leg irons — whatever scratches the proverbial itch — from the waist down.