A portrait of the art gallery as an academic institution
I posted back in the summer, after visiting the Harvard Museum of Natural History about the strengths and weaknesses that I feel an academic museum brings to the interpretation of its collections. This was something that I felt Harvard did particularly well.
During my America Tour, I was sad to miss seeing the majority of the famous Yale University Art Gallery, because it was closed for reservation, but I managed to squeeze in a trip there this time, and it was well worth the wait. YUAG confirms my view both that american museums do things bigger and better than the UK, and that many academic museums need to think more clearly. The new museum is spectacular. The three interconnecting buildings have been opened up, creating clear flows of space while maintaining their distinct, and beautiful, architectural identities. The collections are vast, so that I only managed to see a small proportion, and will need multiple return visits (anyone wishing to fund those please get in touch!). But, the parts I saw effectively create different feelings for parts of the collection: American Decorative Arts, Modern and Contemporary Art and Design, European Art, Ancient Art etc. A new sculpture terrace had also been created on the roof, giving impressive views over New Haven.
What struck me most, however, was how YUAG seems to balance its academic and visitor functions. An excellent small Study Gallery on the top floor showcases items from the collection in active use for teaching by Yale faculty and explains the courses to which they relate. Drawn from all over the museum, this links nicely into the permanent galleries. If anything I would have put this gallery closer to the centre of the action. The opening special exhibition The Société Anonyme: Modernism for America, also makes a nice case for the collections of this group which were given to Yale, linking the University directly to the exhibition, and the place of the Société in the history of art.
If these glimpses are anything to go by, YUAG is a portrait for any academic museum to copy. But then I think most museum directors would welcome a touch of YUAG director Jock Reynold's equally as un-academic golden touch at fundraising.