Philippe de Montebello will be on campus today to make remarks at the Turner Construction/Wachovia Student Forum and deliver the Dan and Gail Cook lecture, as part of the Tate Lecture Series.
De Montebello has served as the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since 1977 and is the longest-serving director in the institution’s history. On Jan. 8 of this year, de Montebello announced he would be retiring as director of the museum by the end of the year.
During de Montebello’s long tenure at the Met, the museum has nearly doubled in size, as well as undergone significant renovations to revamp already-existing galleries. Furthermore, de Montebello has actively improved the museum’s collection with such additions as, in recent years, the ancient Egyptian sculpture of an “Old Kingdom Recumbent Lion,” Caravaggio’s “The Denial of Saint Peter,” Jasper John’s “White Flag,” and the widely-reported purchase of Duccio’s 14th century masterpiece, “Madonna and Child.”
Through his storied and acclaimed career, de Montebello has received praise and recognition as one of the world’s foremost experts on art. “Departures” magazine declared, “Met presentations now set the world standard for scholarly excellence and glamorous display,” and The New York Times described de Montebello as “the edifice within the edifice” of the Met.
In March 2003, President George W. Bush awarded de Montebello. The National Medal of Arts, noting that by “promoting wide-reaching programs that bring art to the American people, he has helped to preserve, protect and present the cultural and artistic heritage of our world.”
The Turner Construction/Wachovia Student Forum will be at 4:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballroom. Admission is free for all students, faculty and staff. Seating will be provided on a first come, first served basis. To guarantee seating, please arrive by 4:15 p.m.
For the evening lecture, students should come to the basement of McFarlin Auditorium with their SMU I.D.s at 7 p.m. Backpacks are prohibited, and the dress is business casual. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at smu.edu/tate or by calling the Tate office at 214-768-8283.
