The Curator's Egg: The Evolution of the Museum Concept from the French Revolution to the Present Day

Art dealer, publisher, and writer Karsten Schubert traces the concept of the museum from the opening of the Louvre, through to the mid-20th century shift from heralding ancient work to supporting living artists, to the current popularity of buildings by ''starchitects.'' This landmark third edition adds a provocative essay, ''Democracy of Spectacle,'' discussing the recent trend of museums adopting a populist and income-based business model. Schubert includes an engrossing history of the Metropolitan Museum and MoMA from 1930-1950, and of the unprecedented success of museums in the 1980s and 1990s in Europe and the United States. This unique volume will completely change the way you look at museums.