De Montebello/Hoving Contretemps

I happened to be at the right place at the right time to overhear this telling exchange, occurring during the lunch break of the May 4 symposium on “Museums and the Collecting of Antiquities,” organized by the Association of Art Museum Directors.
The always provocative Tom Hoving caught up with his successor as director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philippe de Montebello, right after PdM’s brilliantly persuasive presentation (more on that in future posts).
TOM HOVING: You are not dynamic enough.
PHILIPPE DE MONTEBELLO: You used to be too dynamic.
That says it all.