Mark Morris At Mid-Career

“Morris’s sentences are like a roller coaster; he has the timing of a born comedian and a camp, expressive delivery that means he lurches from word to word, placing the emphasis very firmly where he wants it. He is a natural performer –who has, one suspects, an opinion on everything, though as the years have passed, he has grown more discreet about sharing them.”

Charles Ryskamp, Who Directed Morgan, Frick, Dies at 81

Appointed director of the Morgan Library in 1969, he “made a number of highly important acquisitions” and “extended its reach in several areas, notably music and children’s literature. In 1987, Mr. Ryskamp became director of the Frick, where he was an animating presence, increasing the number of exhibitions and broadening their scope.”

Leonardo Vs. Michelangelo: The Florentine Smackdown

“We might think it absurd to look at such supreme human treasures and ask which artist is best – but that was what the Florentine republic tried to establish, by getting them to work at public expense on competitive battle paintings, Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari and Michelangelo’s Battle of Cascina, for the Great Council Hall of the civic palace.”

Are Artists Forgotten In The Arts’ Economic Argument?

When NEA chief Rocco Landesman came to town, no one “mentioned the absence of direct federal support for artists” or “brought up the dissolution of Pennsylvania’s individual artist fellowships.” As one local artist put it later: “It seems that culture and art are important as long as they redevelop neighborhoods or have some quantifiable measure.”