Philippe de Montebello, former director of the Metropolitan Museum, added another medal to his trophy case yesterday when he became only the fourth person ever to have received both the National Medal of the Arts and the National Humanities Medal. The other double-medalists were philanthropist Paul Mellon and authors Eudora Welty and John Updike. Yesterday, he picked up the humanities gold. In 2002, he medaled in the arts.
Here’s a screen shot taken from the video of the awards ceremony (about 22 minutes into the clip), of de Montebello with President Obama, who has just hung Philippe’s latest acquisition around his neck. (Purple-clad Michelle’s sleek coif is in the front row.):
The citation says de Montebello received the honor “for his vision in bringing great art to an international public and his leadership in revitalizing the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and for fostering arts appreciation among people of all ages.” (But can he nail the triple toe loop?)
Here’s a passage that seems particularly pertinent in these financially challenging times from the profile of de Montebello, written for the occasion by Robert Messenger, senior editor of the Weekly Standard:
One of de Montebello’s most important decisions came in the late 1980s
when he stopped the Met from charging a separate fee for special
exhibitions—a widespread practice in the art world. “If you have only
one ticket, which you’ve paid a lot of money for, you’re only going to
see the show once. And, if you can’t come back three or four times,
you’re not really seeing the show.”
Two visual artists were among the 10 chosen for the National Medal of the Arts: Frank Stella and Maya Lin. For the complete list of recipients and their citations, go here.