Illustrated with over fifty photos, Civilizing Rituals merges contemporary debates with lively discussion and explores central issues involved in the making and displaying of art as industry and how it is presented to the community.
Carol Duncan looks at how nations, institutions and private individuals present art , and how art museums are shaped by cultural, social and political determinants.
Civilizing Rituals is ideal reading for students of art history and museum studies, and professionals in the field will also find much of interest here.
INTRODUCTION 1 THE ART MUSEUM AS RITUAL 2 FROM THE PRINCELY GALLERY TO THE PUBLIC ART MUSEUM: THE LOUVRE MUSEUM AND THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON 3 PUBLIC SPACES, PRIVATE INTERESTS: MUNICIPAL ART MUSEUMS IN NEW YORK AND CHICAGO 4 SOMETHING ETERNAL: THE DONOR MEMORIAL 5 THE MODERN ART MUSEUM: IT'S A MAN'S WORLD, CONCLUSION