May 19, 2011 – On May 9, 2011, the J. Paul Getty Trust announced that they have appointed James Cuno to be president of the Trust. Cuno, hitherto Director of The Art Institute of Chicago, has won friends all over the world because he advocated the age-old tradition of collecting.
James Cuno, 60, ranks among the most reputable members of the museum world. He was Director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London and of the Harvard University Art Museums before he became Director and President of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. There he initiated and built the huge new wing which increased the museum by 250.000 square feet and turned the Art Institute of Chicago into the second largest museum of the United States, after the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Collectors all over the world know James Cuno well for his eloquent advocacy for collecting. He keeps raising his hand whenever it becomes necessary to object the extreme views of some archaeologists on cultural property issues. He is committed to the high value of free communication among cultures.
James Cuno will take office in August.
The Getty Museum owns a comprehensive coin collection. Unfortunately, the website of the J. Paul Getty Trust does not provide any information about it. Nevertheless, here is the link to the Getty’s website.
If you want to know more about Cuno’s appointment, here’s an article of the New York Times.
Cuno has edited a publication which summarizes some important statements about collecting named “Whose Culture?”. If you want to know more about it click here.
You will find some statements of James Cuno concerning cultural property issues here.