Hello--
  I do believe you are thinking of Thomas Hoving's "King of the
Confessors" from 1981.  A tad dramatic but a good read; it was a
best-seller, in fact.

   Adrienne DeAngelis, Editor
   Resources in Art History for Graduate Students
   (http://members.efn.org/~acd/resources.html)
   [log in to unmask]

> MessageWhat about the book that came out 15-20 years ago which examined
> the process by which the curator of the Cloisters Museum discovered that
> an ivory cross which had been offered to the museum dated back to Medival
> England? I left my copy at the museum where I used to work. It was full
> length and read like a mystery novel, but fully showed the investigatory
> role a curator might have to play before making a significant purchase.
>
> Mary L. Kirby
> [log in to unmask]
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Carol Ely
>   To: [log in to unmask]
>   Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2005 8:53 AM
>   Subject: literature/museums
>
>
>
>
>
>      >>> sometimes I think I'm the only person who loves Nick Hornby's
> work. :)  >>>
>
>     I'm a Hornby fan too, and I've used this story, "Nipple Jesus", as a
> catalyst for discussion in docent training. Another passage I've used
> is from Allegra Goodman's novel "Kaaterskill Falls," in which a young
> woman makes a surprising life-changing decision while viewing Hudson
> River school paintings.
>
>     Any other examples of literary works that deal in useful ways with
> museum issues? (I'm not talking about works set in museums per se, but
> pieces that illuminate something for you about what we do, or how our
> audiences interact with museums).
>
>     Carol Ely
>     Louisville, KY
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