Art Treasures of the Metropolitan [antikvár]

FOREWORDT^ here is A charming idiom of the Frenchtongueprendre la parolewhich does not mean, as one might literally suppose, "to take the words out of another's mouth," but rather charges an individual with speaking in behalf of those of whom he is a part as their representative and peer. It is in this spirit, and at their urgency, that Miss Edith A. Standen, Associate Curator of Renaissance and Modern Art, a pris la parole for the curatorial staff of the Museum in the writing of this book. Her role has been more than that of editor but yet not quite that of ghost writer. She has been entrusted with the corporate knowledge and wisdom of the house and has produced a text which has more than justified their confidence in her felicity of expression and capacity for synthesis. In short, this splendid volume is proof positive that Lindbergh would have got to Paris even if he had been flown there by a committee.The book also marks the eighty fruitful years which have brought these countless treasures to the Metropolitan, which first opened its doors on Washington's Birthday, 1872, at 681 Fifth Avenue. It is a tribute to American philanthropy and civic pride; it is an answer to propaganda from overseas that private enterprise, the public purse, and cultivation of the mind cannot work together for the betterment of mankind.The Museum is proud of this book as it is proud of its collections. No greater monument to taste has been created in the short span of threegenerations. The museums and galleries of Europe are the accumulations of many centuries and the rewards of kings. The Metropolitan has been the work of common men filled with respect for the past and anticipation for the future. What is lacking from heredity is compensated for by a burning desire to do in this New World soil of ours what Lord Arundel's tutor, Henry Peacham, besought of him to do"to transplant Olde Greece into England."But any book about an art museum must stand or fall by its illustrations; chief credit for those in this volume is due to Charles K. Wilkinson, who, with the active assistance of the departmental curators concerned, selected the objects to be reproduced, determined the arrangement of the plates, and supervised the photography. For the painting section the choice was made by Theodore Rousseau, Jr. The making of choices is well known to be the most strenuous activity in which the human mind can engage; there is not a page in this book that does not have behind it a prolonged period of this activity. It is to be emphasized, however, that it is to the committee of the whole, the Staff, whose names appear at the back of the volume, that the book owes its richness of facts and ideas, its diversity and its unity.The Trustees of the Museum wish to express their gratitude to Mr. Abrams for this courageous and beautiful accounting of their stewardship.Francis Henry Taylor, Director