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, New York, from 1949 to 1967.

Background

Of Austrian, Czech, and French descent, Count Rene d'Harnoncourt was born in Vienna, Austria, 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 Frederick W. Davis (April 17, 1878 - March 7, 1961) operated an antiquities and folk art shop in Mexico City. Davis was an early collector and dealer in pre-Columbian and Mexican folk art and his shop was a place where Mexican Modern artists who ...

, 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 such as Diego Rivera,

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Sique ...

, and Rufino Tamayo; others who frequented the shop included Miguel Covarrubias and Jean Charlot. 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 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 Margaret Lefranc (''nee'' Frankel; later Schoonover) (March 15, 1907September 5, 1998) was an American painter, illustrator and editor, an American Modernist with early training as a color expressionist. Lefranc produced portraits, figures, flora ...

was a guest speaker several times during 1934–1935, educating listeners on American and European art. He briefly taught at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

. In 1936, d'Harnoncourt became the general manager of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (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 in San Francisco. Its success led to an even larger show at New York's Museum of Modern Art, the influential ''Indian Art of the United States (exhibition), Indian Art of the United States'' exhibition that opened in January 1941. In 1944, the Museum of Modern Art 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 Empire State Plaza#Art collection, 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 d'Harnoncourt, 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, 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,'' Museum of Modern Art, 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