Terrorism fears and museums

In today's NY Times, an article on the problems faced by those organizing loan exhibitions in cities deemed likely terrorist targets:

Concerns over terrorism are complicating the large and luscious international loan exhibitions that have long been the lifeblood of museums, especially in places like New York that are considered a prime target for attacks.

Since 9/11, European institutions have become reluctant to lend their prize works of art to New York museums without new assurances of beefed-up security and increased terrorism insurance.

For places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the cost of such insurance has escalated so dramatically that it threatens to break budgets just as these institutions are struggling with dwindling sponsorships and cutbacks in public funds.

"The rising value of art, coupled with the escalating cost of insurance premiums, are making these large shows prohibitive," said Lisa Dennison, a deputy director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and its chief curator. "This, along with falling attendance, has been one of the most serious repercussions of Sept. 11."

Museum directors and curators are not the only ones with concerns. Collectors also have fears. Some are insisting that museums obtain extra insurance before they agree to lend their multimillion-dollar paintings.

Others, like the Las Vegas casino owner Stephen A. Wynn, have simply refused to lend their art, saying the coverage offered by museums is just not good enough. Three months ago, nervous about several major future exhibitions, Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan Museum, and Glenn D. Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art, made a hasty trip to Paris to talk with museum officials there who were threatening to pull their loans from several major New York shows.

Posted by David on February 25, 2003 9:20 AM