René d'Harnoncourt (May 17, 1901 – August 13, 1968) was an Austrian-born American art curator. He was Director of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, New York, from 1949 to 1967.

Background

Of Austrian, Czech, and French descent, Count Rene d'Harnoncourt was born in

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, the son of Count Hubert d'Harnoncourt and his wife, the former Julie Mittrowsky. Although he showed an interest in art as a child, he received a technical education. After his family suffered severe financial losses, he moved to Paris in 1924, and went to Mexico in 1926. D'Harnoncourt initially eked out a minimal living as a commercial artist, but quickly acquired a reputation for his knowledgeable advice to American antique collectors.

Career

In 1927, d’Harnoncourt went to work for Frederick W. Davis, who operated one of the most important antiquities and folk art shops in Mexico City. Davis was among the first to collect, display and sell the work of the emerging

Mexican artists Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous peopl ...

such as

Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...

, José Clemente Orozco, and

Rufino Tamayo Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, ...

; others who frequented the shop included

Miguel Covarrubias Miguel Covarrubias, also known as José Miguel Covarrubias Duclaud (22 November 1904 — 4 February 1957) was a Mexican painter, caricaturist, illustrator, ethnologist and art historian. Along with his American colleague Matthew W. Stirling, h ...

and

Jean Charlot Louis Henri Jean Charlot (February 8, 1898 – March 20, 1979) was a French-born American painter and illustrator, active mainly in Mexico and the United States. Life Charlot was born in Paris. His father, Henri, owned an import-export business ...

. D'Harnoncourt assisted in buying and selling antiques and contemporary works and also organized displays and exhibits in the showroom. In 1929 and 1930 d'Harnoncourt organized an exhibition of Mexican fine and applied arts at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York that then traveled to other American cities. D'Harnoncourt left Davis’s shop in 1933 and moved to the United States. That year, he married Sarah Carr (1903-2001) and became host of the radio program ''Art in America''. Among many others, Margaret Lefranc was a guest speaker several times during 1934–1935, educating listeners on American and European art. He briefly taught at Sarah Lawrence College. In 1936, d'Harnoncourt became the general manager of the

Indian Arts and Crafts Board The Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior whose mission is to "promote the economic development of American Indians and Alaska Natives through the expansion of the Indian arts and craft ...

(IACB), a New Deal agency created to revive Native American arts and crafts. To promote Native American craftwork, d'Harnoncourt, along with Frederic Huntington Douglas, developed an exhibit of Native American arts and crafts for the 1939

Golden Gate International Exposition The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) (1939 and 1940), held at San Francisco's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair celebrating, among other things, the city's two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 ...

in San Francisco. Its success led to an even larger show at New York's

, the influential '' Indian Art of the United States'' exhibition that opened in January 1941. In 1944, the

appointed D'Harnoncourt to be vice president in charge of foreign activities. He proved to be an expert exhibit installer and notable collector. In 1949 the museum named him director, a position he would hold until 1967. He was responsible for a series of significant exhibitions over the course of his tenure as director, including ''Lipchitz'' (1954), ''Rodin'' (1963), and ''Picasso'' (1967). D'Harnoncourt was also an advisor to Nelson Rockefeller. In 1965 he was appointed to a commission to choose modern art works for the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection in Albany, New York. He was a tireless advocate of modern art.

Death and legacy

D'Harnoncourt retired from the position of director in 1967. He was killed on Long Island by a drunk driver roughly a year later. D'Harnoncourt's only child, Anne Julie d'Harnoncourt (1943–2008), served as Director and eventually CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from 1982 until her death.

Notes

* Hellman, Geoffrey T., "Profiles: Imperturbable Noble," ''New Yorker'' 35 (7 May 1960). * Lynes, Russell, ''Good Old Modern: An Intimate Portrait of the Museum of Modern Art'', Athenaeum, New York 1973 pages 264–283. * Schrader, Robert Fay, ''The Indian Arts & Crafts Board: An Aspect of New Deal Indian Policy'', University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1983, pages 124–128.

Publications

* 1931: ''The Hole in the Wall,''

Alfred A Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...

, ASIN B002N61RLK *1931: ''Mexicana,: A book of pictures,'' Alfred A Knopf, ASIN B00085UVA6 *1933: ''Beast, Bird and Fish: An Animal Alphabet,'' Alfred A. Knopf, ASIN B00085PXD6 *1946: ''ARTS OF THE SOUTH SEAS,'' The Museum of Modern Art/ Simon and Schuster, ASIN B000IVZTDY *1954: ''Ancient Arts of the Andies,'' The Museum of Modern Art, New York, ASIN B000TR8SJO *1959: ''The New American Painting, As Shown in Eight European Countries 19581–959,'' The Museum of Modern Art, ASIN B000GWXUEA *1964: ''The Museum of Modern Art: A Pictorial Chronicle,'' Art in America, ASIN B005O2GWOC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dharnoncourt, Rene 1901 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Austrian people Austrian educators American art curators Nobility from Vienna Austrian people of Czech descent Austrian people of French descent People from New York City People associated with the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) Road incident deaths in New York (state) Sarah Lawrence College faculty Austrian emigrants to the United States Directors of museums in the United States Austrian expatriates in France Austrian expatriates in Mexico