On March 13, 2010, the New Museum hosted a daylong symposium on the past, present, and future of the cooperation between private collectors and public institutions. The first panel focused on the importance of public/private partnerships to the rise and development of the American art museum, looking at the history of patronage in America, the proliferation of institutions during America’s first Gilded Age, and how this set the stage for cultural dynamics in this century. Panelists included Inge Reist, Sally Webster, Linda Nochlin, and Andrew McClellan, with moderator Richard Flood, Chief Curator at the New Museum.

The second panel discussed new models of public/private partnerships currently being implemented or contemplated, and considered changing conditions in the cultural landscape and the need for museums to find innovative solutions to meet the challenges of a new century. Panelists include Tom Eccles, Iwona Blazwick, and Francesco Bonami, with moderator Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director at the New Museum.

Panel 1: Public/Private Partnerships: The Development of the American Art Museum
12:30 PM

Inge Reist is Director of the Center for the History of Collecting in America, Frick Art Reference Library, and The Frick Collection, where she has worked since 1980.

Linda Nochlin is Lila Acheson Wallace Professor of Modern Art at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts.

Sally Webster is Professor Emerita of American Art at Lehman College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Andrew McClellan is Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts & Sciences and Professor of Art History at Tufts University.

Richard Flood is Chief Curator at the New Museum.

Panel 2: Crossing into the Future: New Models of Collaboration
3 PM

Iwona Blazwick is Director, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London. From 1997 to 2001, she was head of Exhibitions and Displays at Tate Modern, London.

Francesco Bonami is curator of the 2010 Whitney Biennial. He was formerly Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and American Editor of Flash Art. He is also the artistic director of Fondazione Sandretto ReRebaudengo per l’Arte, Turin.

Tom Eccles is Executive Director of the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS) at Bard College. From 1997 to 2005 he was Director and Curator at The Public Art Fund, New York.

Lisa Phillips is Toby Devan Lewis Director at the New Museum.