Axline Lecture: Philippe de Montebello

Axline Lecturer:  Philippe de Montebello

Fiske Kimball Professor in the History and Culture of Museums,

Institute of Fine Arts, New York University

 

The San Diego Museum of Art and MCASD present the 12th Annual Axline Lecture event in honor of the unprecedented endowments that Jackie and Rea Axline bestowed on both institutions in 1999.  This year the Museum welcomes Philippe de Montebello, one of the museum worlds’ most influential and articulate champions of integrity, authority, education, and public access. 

 

Mr. de Montebello was born in Paris and received his early education in France. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and received a master’s degree in art history from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts.   He served as director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 32 years and has been awarded both the National Medal of the Humanities and the National Medal of the Arts by the White House. 

In 2008 Mr. de Montebello became the first scholar in residence at the Prado Museum in Madrid, and joined the Board of Trustees of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. In 2009, Mr. de Montebello launched a new academic career as the first Fiske Kimball Professor in the History and Culture of Museums at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University and as a special advisor for NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus. He is currently co-host with Paula Zahn of the WNET/PBS weekly culture series SundayArts, and serves as Special Advisor to the Leon Levy Foundation.  He continues to lecture throughout the world on art, museums, and other cultural matters.

Long the narrator of the Museum's Audio Guide programming—which now features a “Selections from the Director Emeritus” tour that he recorded in five of the eight different languages offered—Mr. de Montebello's has become one of the most instantly recognizable and respected voices in the cultural world.

Museum members and Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego members can purchase tickets online.  Seating for this event is limited.