Latest Articles and Blog Posts

review of My Times in Black and White: Race and Power at the New York Times

February 8, 2010  •  Forbes.com

Why might one pick up a copy of My Times in Black and White: Race and Power at the New York Times, the posthumously published memoir of Gerald M. Boyd? To some potential readers, the title tantalizingly suggests that Boyd, an African-American who rose to become managing editor of The New York Times under ill-fated executive editor Howell Raines, will detail just how hard it is to be black even at an elite, liberal institution like the Times. Others may see the book as an inspiring story of a child raised in poverty in St. Louis who reached the profession's pinnacle, or thereabouts. Others may want the inside story of how Raines and Boyd lost control of the Times newsroom in 2003 during the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal and were forced to forfeit their jobs. Still others may hope for a fall-from-professional-grace, rise-to-personal-triumph tale.

Continue to the full review  |  More reviews and articles

The Aftermath: Responses to My Deaccessioning Op-Ed

January 10, 2010 at 10:33 pm

A week has passed since the publication of my deaccessioning op-ed in The New York Times: the screams have occurred, the rebuttal letters have been printed, and it's time again for me to weigh in on the objections.

Continue to the full blog post  |  More blog posts

The Art Of The Deal
Rules For Museums To Sell From Their Collections In Hard Times

January 2, 2010  •  The New York Times

THE squeeze is on. Museums everywhere are having trouble making ends meet, what with the overblown expansions they've made, the decline in investment income and the steep drop-off in contributions from foundations and individuals. Many have cut staff, frozen pay, trimmed exhibition schedules and slowed or stopped acquisitions. For some, that may not be enough: the American Folk Art Museum, to cite one example, recently admitted that it isn't making debt payments.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

An Epic Poem In Paint
The story of 'The Battle of Issus' and Albrecht Altdorfer

January 2, 2010  •  Wall Street Journal

If ever a work of art merited comparison with epic poetry, "The Battle of Issus" is it. Albrecht Altdorfer's depiction of the moment in 333 B.C. when Alexander the Great routed Darius III for supremacy in Asia Minor is vast in ambition, sweeping in scope, vivid in imagery, rich in symbols, and obviously heroic—the Iliad of painting, as literary critic Friedrich Schlegel suggested.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Season's Greetings From Artists And Poets

December 22, 2009 at 3:36 pm

The news broke a few hours ago: President and Michelle Obama are sending a holiday card -- ecumenical, of course -- made by American Greetings and featuring a "foil-embossed presidential seal surrounded by a wreath, and a thin burgundy border around the edges. It contains the message: 'May your family have a joyous holiday season and a new year blessed with hope and happiness.' "

Vice-president Joe Biden, meanwhile, went a different route. His card, also manufactured by American Greetings, carries a photo of his family on the front and puts the vice presidential seal inside. It's inscribed "Wishing you and your family joy and peace this holiday season."

Continue to the full blog post  |  More blog posts