Talking to a Portrait: Tales of an Art Curator
“Mounting an art exhibition is like putting on a play. Both have a director, producer, script, major actors and bit players. Gather six curators around a table with the bare outline of a theme, let everyone throw around ideas fantastical and practical, then write down the names of specific artists (specific paintings, even better), and the race is on. Add three to four years of searching out exhibits, requesting, loans, redefining themes, editing out works, making last-minute additions, preparing a 400-page catalogue and planning the installation, and the stage is set for opening night. Raise the curtain!”
Talking to a Portrait: Tales of an Art Curator by Rosalind M. Pepall is a fascinating look behind the scenes at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. I’ve never really understood what a curator does when they organize an exhibit. I’ve assumed it was primarily online research and logistics, but it is so much more than that. Pepall spends years tracing down artworks and diligently researching their history before an exhibit.
It definitely pays to be curious. Pepall takes the time to meet with Jori Smith, an early twentieth-century Québecois painter and travels with her to the Charlevoix region to visit the people and places where Smith used to live. Pepall’s interests range far wider than painters. There is a fascinating chapter about the Maxwell brothers who designed many of the CP hotels across the country as well as the Saskatchewan Legislature. Many of the CP hotels also contain ironwork by Paul Beau, and Pepell traces Beau’s career from early success to a tragic end.
Curators are often responsible for escorting artworks to other galleries and museums. This is often a formality, but at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Pepall ended up wrapping and packing a jewellery collection. In fact, she wrapped many of the pieces twice as a customs officer wanted to see them before they were shipped back to Montreal. The visit to the Hermitage paid off though as she uncovered a previously unknown Tiffany stained glass panel and was able to include it in a Tiffany exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
The chapter on the Tiffany exhibit was one of my favorites as the author went into great detail about how the Tiffany Studio functioned, the personality of Louis C. Tiffany, as well as the different techniques used to produce stained glass windows, panels, and lamps.
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