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 > ========================================================= Important > Subscriber Information: > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail > message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should > read "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message > to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. > Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.9.2/54 - Release Date: 7/21/2005 > > ========================================================Important > Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail > message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should > read "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. > Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.9.2/54 - Release Date: 7/21/2005 > > ========================================================Important > Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at > http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed > information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail > message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should > read "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read > "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).