Dear All,
I’m excited to share with you a new project I’ve been working on that will provide an informative and illuminating view into the art world, “Conversations.”
On a monthly basis I will be conducting interviews with art world luminaries, all of whom will provide a deep and nuanced view of the art community. When seen collectively, my hope is you will possess a more comprehensive and enlightened sense of this dynamic field.
I am pleased to share with you our first “Conversation,” with the former Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Malcolm Rogers. Dr. Rogers served as the Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA, Boston for 21 years, and is a scholar on British paintings and portraiture.
“Conversations” with Malcolm Rogers
Since leaving the MFA, Boston what have you been up to?
I am now living in England, in Broadway in the Cotswolds, in a house where the American artists John Singer Sargent, Edwin Austin Abbey and Frank Millet worked and played in the 1880s. I still keep up with my many friends in Boston, and visit regularly, not least because I am a Trustee of the Worcester Art Museum. I’m working to catch up with the scholarship ( and scholars) of British art, and do a certain amount of work advising the art trade and private collectors in Europe and America.
Over the course of your long career in the museum world, what’s the most pronounced difference between when you began and now?
There are several major differences. Museums have become much more aware of and responsive to audience needs and expectations. Marketing – once a dirty word – is now seen as a critical ally of mission. Earned income and fund-raising are now an integral part of the life of the museum professional. The internet has become the greatest outreach tool since the invention of moveable type. Finally, and negatively, I note the over-dominance of contemporary art. For me it is the museum director’s and curator’s job to prove that ALL art is contemporary.
In our current, fast-paced age and need for constant stimulation, what is the best way for one to stop and truly look at art?
Take time to visit museums, without the pressure to ‘do’ a museum in one visit, and take time, during a museum visit, to rest and refresh yourself. Whatever your budget, find time to collect something you like or which intrigues you. There is something for every budget, and a youngster might start with Delft tiles or 19th century cups and saucers. Handle something that is real.
What is good art to you?
Beauty allied to fine design, technique and materials. The best art constantly affirms the power of the human imagination: to create unforgettable images and – above all – to move the human heart and amaze.
Regardless of whether it’s possible, is there a single object or painting that you would love to own?
As I write I am currently enjoying a long weekend in Madrid, and in just one city there are simply too many choices. From the Prado I would steal Velasquez’s Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan – a miraculous epiphany. Otherwise I would attempt to carry home Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne from the Galleria Borghese in Rome – a miracle in stone.
Are you interested in contemporary art?
Yes, but on my own terms, and there is much that I consider pretentious, ugly and stone-cold.
What cities fascinate you for the arts? And what institutions?
It is impossible to choose. All the great cities of the world offer such a diversity of cultural opportunities. Of course to some extent I judge cities by their museums, but the complete experience is the thing: architecture, places of worship, food and wine, theatre and music. I usually check out what’s on at the opera house. Where museums are concerned I really love some the small ones: the Frick in New York, the Wallace Collection, London, the Gulbenkian in Lisbon, the Galleria Borghese, Rome to name just four
How do you stay current to the art world?
I read the Art Newspaper despite the dominance in its pages of contemporary art, visit art fairs and exhibitions, and read sales catalogues. And, since I no longer have the resources of a major institution behind me, I’ve been rebuilding my library.
What and who inspires you?
Great painting, sculpture and decorative arts, and great music, especially when it involves the human voice.
What are you currently reading?
I’m going back to classics like The Count of Montechristo and The Charterhouse of Parma, and am currently storming through the complete novels of Trollope, while dipping into Saki short stories.
Where’s the most recent place you’ve traveled to?
Scotland: the Western Isles and Edinburgh.
If you could invite any guests to a dinner party, alive or deceased, who would you invite?
Alive: David Hockney and Sir Roy Strong. Dead: Montaigne, Van Dyck and Jane Austen.
I hope you enjoyed this, if you have any questions about “Conversations” or would like to see any personalities in the art world interviewed here, please let me know. As always if you need advice regarding any aspect of Collecting Fine Art, please feel free to contact me.
Warm Regards,
Bill Cottingham
