The Economics of Art Museums | Date: 28 April 2011, 07:25
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The Economics of Art Museums (National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report)
By Martin Feldstein
* Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
* Number Of Pages: 374
* Publication Date: 1992-02-15
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0226240738
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780226240732
The National Bureau of Economic Research organized a project to explore the economic issues facing the major art museums of the United States. For this purpose we defined economics broadly to include not only the financial situation of the museums but also the management and growth of museum collections, the museums' relationship with the public, and the role of the government in supporting art museums.
Preface
The National Bureau of Economic Research organized a project to explore the
economic issues facing the major art museums of the United States. For this
purpose we defined economics broadly to include not only the financial situation
of the museums but also the management and growth of museum collections,
the museums' relationship with the public, and the role of the government
in supporting art museums.
This volume brings together nontechnical essays on these issues by economists
associated with the National Bureau of Economic Research and personal
statements by leaders of our major national art museums and related foundations.
I hope that it will be read not only by economists but also by museum
officials and trustees. Museum directors generally come to their responsibilities
with a background in art history and curatorial work but without experience
in thinking about the management and public policy aspects of museum
administration. Trustees who serve on museum boards generally have a background
in business or law but have not previously tried to apply their experience
to the unusual economic problems of museums. I hope that the background
papers, the panelists' remarks, and the summary of the discussion will
help them to approach their responsibilities with a better understanding of the
problems and possibilities of the museum.
A small group of NBER economists met in 1989 to examine these issues
informally and to plan the specific research. We benefited from the participation
of several officials of leading museums and of the Association of Art
Museum Directors (AAMD). In organizing this project I also had very helpful
personal discussions about these issues with Neil Rudenstine, then of the Mellon
Foundation, and Alan Shestack of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The Association of Art Museum Directors conducts an annual statistical
survey of its members to obtain information on finances and attendance. We
are grateful to the AAMD and in particular to Bruce H. Evans, Director of the
Dayton Art Institute, who supervises the annual survey, for their cooperation
in providing these data. An analysis of several aspects of these data is presented
by Professor Richard N. Rosett in the first background paper of this
volume. Several other researchers in the project also used these data for their
work.
In December 1989 the project culminated in a two-day conference at which
the NBER economists who prepared the background papers met with directors
and curators from principal American museums and other leaders of the museum
community. The small size of the group allowed for a lively discussion
that, in my view, successfully bridged the two cultures. Our meeting was organized
into five sessions: (1) The Museum's Collection, (2) The Museum and
the Public, (3) Museum Finances, (4) The Museum and the Government, and
(5) a final overview session aimed at integrating these separate issues.
Each session was launched by three or four personal statements. The full
texts of these remarks are presented in the first part of this volume together
with summaries of each discussion. The background papers appear in the second
part of this volume. I am grateful to all of the participants for their contributions
to the project and for their participation in the conference. I also want
to thank Professor Douglas Elmendorf of Harvard University and the NBER
for preparing the summary of the discussion and for his general help with
editing this volume.
Financial support for this project came from the J. Paul Getty Foundation,
the Mellon Foundation, the New York Times Foundation, and Mr. David
Rockefeller. I am grateful to all of them for their generosity.
I am also pleased to thank several members of the NBER staff for their
assistance in the planning and execution of the meetings and in the preparation
of this volume, particularly Kirsten Foss Davis, Ilana Hardesty, Mark FitzPatrick,
Kathi Smith, and Candace Morrissey.
Martin Feldstein
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