HOVING, A History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N. Y. -- a romp thru the world of collectors, dealers, and socialites.

Speranza


Mr. H. gently settles some old scores and a few debts.

An entertaining read if interested in the time and topic.


Since some worked at the Metropolitan Museum during part of Hoving's reign there, the interest and response of some were probably more fascinated than some of the critics'.

The book is an insight not only into the human workings of a great museum, but into the mind of a connoisseur who is obsessed with any work of art.

A companion book might be "Chasing Aphrodite" to look at the other side of the pursuit of works of art, especially ill-got ones, including the famous Euphronius krater, which was bought by the Met under Hoving and has now been returned to Villa Giulia in Rome.




The book is in good, readable condition.

The story in it is the most valuable item you can get!

Very informative and highly educational.

Gives a sneak peek at how the rich and powerful operate behind the scenes.

Very shocking revelations Hoving makes about himself and a host of others.

Very entertaining, witty and personal.
Not quite as good as King of the confessors.

 Fascinating peek into the inner-workings of the Met


This book was a treat to read, in part because of how much this highlighted just how professionalized museums have gotten over the last half-century compared to this.

It is fascinating to see how museum ETHICS have evolved also.

To boot, Hoving is a fascinating character and fun to follow.

Highly recommended, especially for those in the New York art world.

This book is extremely entertaining and and an eye opener about what went on in the Metropolitan Museum during Thomas Hoving's time as head in the late 60's and 70's.
Hoving keeps your attention thoughout the book!
Too much gossip.

I loved Thomas Hoving's story of the Bury St. Edmund's cross.

But this book is so jammed with gossip, opinion, and self-aggrandizement (and just self!) that I got sick of it.

There is hardly a paragraph in the entire book that doesn't contain the words, "I" or "my" or "me" or "we"!

An old favorite

I first read Making the Mummies Dance over 10 years ago, when I checked it out from the Public Library.

I checked it out again a couple of years ago, and finally decided to buy my own copy.

It's a very interesting look into the backend of museums and the art world.

The information has been useful, now that I have many friends and web development students in the art world.

I especially like the comments Walter Hoving made about his step-mother training him in manners and how that made a difference in his life.

Those types of details make this book more than just a dry, factual tome.


Fascinating account of the stormy years that Hoving was the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

One may not like some of what he did or how it did it as Director, but it was very interesting and he accomplished a great deal for the museum. A great read for those interested in museums, art, etc.

 

 

A Guilty Pleasure

Hoving dishes the dirt as only he can, in this totally addictive romp through the world of collectors, dealers, and socialites.

 

Hoving is clearly in love with his subject-himself!-but he gives such a rare and fascinating look at what goes on behind the scenes in the lives of the movers and shakers that his self-involvement doesn't really detract much from what is just a great read.

 

Highly recommend this book!

Scorched Earth policy at the New York Met

"Gilded Age Lover"

This book appeals to a select audience: tose who enjoy reading about the great chase for the treasures of the world.

 

Treasures that wars have been fought over.

 

Those who enjoy reading about the super-rich and their foibles.

 

Those who enjoy reading about the intrigues and back stabbings in elite organizations (this book makes The Apprentice look like a pillow fight).

 

And finally those who enjoy reading about a man's all consuming ambition to succeed and yet through it all remain passionate about great art.

 

If any of the above is your cup of tea then you are going to love this.

 

I absolutely recommend his later book 'False Impressions'.

 

And yes, the author spares no punches in his analysis of a lot of famous people.

This is a great book for reading and as a resource guide book. Makes you feel like your there
SPILLING THE BEANS ABOUT THE MET REVOLUTION

This is a refreshing book, about the author's personal quest to transform the Metropolitan Museum of Art of N.Y., during his tenure as director of the museum (1967-1977).

When Hoving arrived as Director, he assessed the Met as a disorganized institution, a collection of collections, located in a mixture of buildings and architectures that gave "the impression of something worse than incomplete; it seemed forgotten and forlorn...."

At the time Hoving was offered the post, he was commissioner of Parks, under the tenure of Mayor John Lindsay, whose mayoral campaign the author had joined with a leave of absence from... the Met, where, after receiving his Ph.D. in Art from Princeton University, he went from assistant curator to curator of the Medieval Department and the Cloisters.

And indeed, it was Lindsay, when told the news about the directorship, who said: "...have you considered the boredom?

Seems to me the place is dead.

But, Hoving, you'll make the mummies dance."

Hence the title of the book.

The story is a fascinating, at times egotistical and gossipy account of what it took to revolutionize an institution like the Met.

From the seduction of the patrons and trustees, such as Nelson Rockefeller, Walter Annenberg, Brooke Astor, Robert Lehman, to the development of a network of experts, smugglers and famous collectors, Hoving takes us on a journey that reveals a lot about the inner workings of power, expertise and glamour, in the art world.

At the end, we are led to believe Hoving's final insight about his tenure:

"With the creative energy of the trustees who had been on my side and the stuff who supported me, the most sweeping revolution in the history of art museums had taken place.

The Met, once an elitist, stiff, gray, and slightly moribund entity, came alive.

THE MUMMIES DID DANCE.


  Dancing to the mummies' tune, July 22, 2002

This lively look at the life and work of a director of a world-class art museum not only educates and entertains, it shocks.

The mummies do, indeed, dance as Thomas Hoving takes on the Park Service to expand the museum, wiggles around UNESCO and fights a host of governments for his favorite works of art, plays one collection against another, trades, deals and bluffs his way toward making the Metropolitan Museum of Art what it is today.

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.

 A gossipy delight, February 20, 2000

This treasure was passed to me by a gallery owner who said I would love it and he was right.

 

Hoving gives you just the right amount of background to ensnare you in Art politics and society without overdoing it and boring the reader who isn't that into art.

 

The book is peppered with anecdotes about the glitterati of the New York and international art/high society scene that ends up having the tone of Gore Vidal but on a subject he probably would never touch.

 A must read for museumophiles,

 

 

After spending many happy hours in the Metropolitan, I really enjoyed this book.

Hoving pulls no punches and getting the "inside dirt" was fasinating and fun!

I know I wouldn't care for him as a person, given the size of his ego, but he must be given credit where credit is due for putting the Metropolitan in the position it is today, no matter what the cost.


After doing significant amounts of fundraising myself, I know it is often a thankless and tiring duty, and one that takes considerable talent.

Hoving makes what probably was a painful process interesting and intriguing in the re-telling.

And there is a generous amount of information sprinkled through the book about the challenges of curating a major museum that I haven't read anywhere else.

  Egotistical,but Interesting

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 (now in Villa Giulia, Roma).  

 

Overall, however, it is an excellent book.

 

 If you like this one, you'll also like his book on art forgery, "False Impressions".
Fascinating ! A "fishing trip" to acquire the big stuff.

 

Hoving takes you inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

Some stories about how he brought the blockbuster exhibitions to the Met are very interesting.

 

Art lovers will like this book.

 

Some pictures include the work of ancient Cyprus and the art in the Egyptian rooms.

 

He explains the art of toading.

 

This book can get kind of stuffy.

 

Hopefully, everyone is still talking to one another.

 

 Everybody should walk the halls of this building and appreciate the acquired works.

 

This is a good place to see if you are visiting and exploring the big town.

 

The author makes you want to go over there.