Richard E. Oldenburg (September 21, 1933 – April 17, 2018) was the 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 ...

from 1972 to 1995. Oldenburg was born in Stockholm, brother of Pop Art sculptor artist

Claes Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...

. The family moved to the United States when he was a child, as his father was in the Swedish diplomatic service.Oldenburg Will Head Modern Museum - New York Times - June 29, 1972
/ref> His mother, Sigrid Lindforss, was an opera singer in Sweden and an abstract artist.

Education

Oldenburg received a B.A. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and attended one year of Harvard Law School before becoming an assistant director of financial aid at Harvard.

Career

Early career

He served in the United States army from 1956 to 1958. After the military he was a manager at Doubleday and in 1963 he joined

Macmillan Company Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

where became managing director of the trade division.

Museum of Modern Art

In 1969 Oldenburg joined MoMA and was responsible for what MoMA said was the largest publishing program of any museum in the world. In 1972 he was named acting director of the museum in January following the resignation of John B. Hightower. In June 1972 he was named the official director of the museum. During his tenure, Oldenburg oversaw the $55 million expansion of the museum building to more than double its size, increased both the museum's endowment and its attendance and helped organize several blockbuster exhibitions, including the

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

retrospective in 1992.Carol Vogel (September 10, 1993)
Oldenburg Quits as Head of Modern
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Other important shows during Oldenburg's tenure included "Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism" in 1989; "Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture & Design" in 1986; "Primitivism in 20th-Century Art" in 1984; "Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective" in 1980, and "Cezanne: The Late Work" in 1978.Carol Vogel (March 17, 1995)
Modern's Ex-Chief Joins Sotheby's
''

''. Under his direction, the museum attendance grew from 853,996 in 1972 to 1.28 million in 1992. While at MoMA, Oldenburg served as president of the

Association of Art Museum Directors The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) is an organization of art museum directors from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The AAMD was established in 1916 by the directors of twelve American museums and was formally incorporated in 1969 ...

in 1987 and 1988. Referring to then Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

's proposal for a cut of 56 percent in the budget for the

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell (1905–1996 ...

in 1991, Oldenburg called it "extremely disproportionate, a sign of the low priority Governor Cuomo puts on arts and cultural programs in general." When he retired in 1995, he became the museum's director emeritus and served as an honorary member of the institution's board of trustees.

Sotheby's

Oldenburg became Chairman of

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

North and South America operations from 1995 to 2000 and later was named Sotheby's Honorary Chairman. While at Sotheby's, he did not conduct sales but focussed on obtaining works of art for sale and conferring with museums on appraisals, acquisitions and sales. He also advised Sotheby's on its educational programs. However, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' art critic Robert Hughes, commented: "I'm sad he's being sucked into the totally pernicious cultural influence of Sotheby's and the auction system." He served as president of the

Harvard Board of Overseers The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend the Board of Overseers) is one of Harvard University's two governing boards. Although its function is more consultative and less hands-on than the President and Fellows of Harv ...

from 2001 to 2002.

Death

Oldenburg died at the age of 84 at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

due to heart failure. He is survived by his brother and his wife Mary Ellen Meehan. After his death, a selection of pieces from his art collection were sold at auction, including 20th century works by

Mimmo Rotella Domenico "Mimmo" Rotella (Catanzaro, 7 October 1918 – Milan, 8 January 2006) was an Italian artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. Best known for his works of décollage and psychogeographics, made from torn advert ...

, Roy Lichtenstein,

Ellsworth Kelly Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – December 27, 2015) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, c ...

, and

Publications

* 1998: ''Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern (2 Volume Set),''

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 th ...

, *2002: ''A Century Of Artists Books,'' The Museum of Modern Art'','' *2002: ''Kandinsky Compositions,'' The Museum of Modern Art, *2010: ''How the Quail Earned His Topknot,'' Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC, *2012: ''The Musical Dragon: The Dragon That Wanted to Join the Band,'' Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC, *2012: ''A Curator's Quest: Building the Museum of Modern Art's Painting and Sculpture Collection, 1967-1988,''

Harry N. Abrams Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael ...

, *2013: ''The Three Little Green Pigs, LLC: A Recycling Pig Tale,'' Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldenburg, Richard 1933 births 2018 deaths Directors of museums in the United States Harvard Law School alumni Harvard University administrators Harvard University alumni People associated with the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) People from Stockholm Swedish emigrants to the United States