Hit by Lightning at the Louvre

How a Military School Dropout-Turned-Actor-Turned-Janitor Ended Up Running the World’s Richest Arts Institution

Because I’m the head of a large arts organization, people often assume that I grew up with the arts. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I came to the arts—stumbled into them, actually—by chance.

I grew up in an Air Force family that moved around a lot: from Missouri to Louisiana, Ohio, Florida, Washington, California, and Bermuda. After graduating from high school at Travis Air Force Base in the Bay Area, I headed to the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School in Colorado Springs. But military school wasn’t …

by James Cuno | February 5, 2014

Ann Philbin

Don’t Challenge the Hammer Museum Director to a Bowling Match

November 19, 2012

Ann Philbin has been the director of the Hammer Museum since 1998. Before participating in a panel on the future of L.A.’s art museums, she confessed in the Zócalo green …

Getty Director Timothy Potts

A Careful Driver Who Just Failed His DMV Exam

October 29, 2012

Timothy Potts became the director of the Getty Museum in September; previously, he was director of the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge in England. Before participating in a …

LACMA Director Michael Govan

Hate Away, New Yorkers!

October 24, 2012

Michael Govan is director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Before participating in a panel on how L.A’s art museums can thrive, he revealed in the Zócalo green …

If You’re a Museum, L.A. Is Semi-Happy To Support You

But, Say the Heads of City’s Major Institutions, It’s Getting A Lot Better

September 9, 2012

The museums of Los Angeles have enormous potential. But, said Jori Finkel, arts reporter at the Los Angeles Times, they “are also vulnerable.” A case in point is the Los …

My Museum’s Got More Picassos Than Yours

What’s the Secret to a Successful Museum?

September 5, 2012

Museums have a lot of people to answer to: artists and critics, curators and funders, and of course the visitors who stroll through their doors. Successful museums somehow satisfy–and even …

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