Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

The Met’s Sheena Wagstaff Pitches Contemporary Donors: ‘Your Work Will Be Up in Perpetuity’

February 25, 2016 by Marion Maneker

Here’s another reason to think the Contemporary art market will continue to have sustained buying strength. The competition among museums is becoming ferocious judging by this FT quote from the Met’s Sheena Wagstaff:

Wagstaff insists that the Met’s weaknesses in contemporary art are actually a source of strength. “The beauty of what we can offer is that if someone does give us an iconic, stunningly wonderful Gerhard Richter or Sigmar Polke, then there’s a pretty much ironclad guarantee that they would be up in perpetuity, and the donor’s munificence would be acknowledged in a way that is not possible in other institutions.” Or, to put it another way, a major donation of contemporary art won’t face competition for wall space.

Only the Met, she emphasises, can put new work in its proper timescale and geographical context. Instead of ripping the latest thing out of context and displaying it in a chic vacuum, she and her team have the erudition to trace themes across continents and millennia.

Curator Sheena Wagstaff on the new Met Breuer museum (FT.com)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Soaring Art Values Raise Insurance QuestionsSoaring Art Values Raise Insurance Questions
  • Magritte Nude Stolen at GunpointMagritte Nude Stolen at Gunpoint
  • What Do Steven Cohen’s Art Sales Mean?What Do Steven Cohen’s Art Sales Mean?
  • Lowered ExpectationsLowered Expectations
  • When Iran Saw Art the Way Qatar Does Today
  • Alex Katz Isn’t Impressed with Picasso’s Dora MaarAlex Katz Isn’t Impressed with Picasso’s Dora Maar

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor