Richard E. Oldenburg (September 21, 1933 – April 17, 2018) was the director of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

from 1972 to 1995. Oldenburg was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, brother of Pop Art sculptor artist

Claes Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor best known for his public art installations, typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions ...

. The family moved to the United States when he was a child, as his father was in the Swedish diplomatic service.Oldenburg Will Head Modern Museum - New York Times - June 29, 1972
/ref> His mother, Sigrid Lindforss, was an opera singer in Sweden and an abstract artist.

Education

Oldenburg received a B.A. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and attended one year of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

before becoming an assistant director of financial aid at Harvard.

Career

Early career

He served in the United States army from 1956 to 1958. After the military he was a manager at

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

and in 1963 he joined

Macmillan Company Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

where became managing director of the trade division.

Museum of Modern Art

In 1969 Oldenburg joined

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

and was responsible for what MoMA said was the largest publishing program of any museum in the world. In 1972 he was named acting director of the museum in January following the resignation of John B. Hightower. In June 1972 he was named the official director of the museum. During his tenure, Oldenburg oversaw the $55 million expansion of the museum building to more than double its size, increased both the museum's endowment and its attendance and helped organize several blockbuster exhibitions, including the

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

retrospective in 1992.Carol Vogel (September 10, 1993)
Oldenburg Quits as Head of Modern
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Other important shows during Oldenburg's tenure included "Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism" in 1989; "Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture & Design" in 1986; "Primitivism in 20th-Century Art" in 1984; "Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective" in 1980, and "Cezanne: The Late Work" in 1978.Carol Vogel (March 17, 1995)
Modern's Ex-Chief Joins Sotheby's
''

''. Under his direction, the museum attendance grew from 853,996 in 1972 to 1.28 million in 1992. While at MoMA, Oldenburg served as president of the

Association of Art Museum Directors The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) is an organization of art museum directors from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The AAMD was established in 1916 by the directors of twelve American museums and was formally incorporated in 1969 ...

in 1987 and 1988. Referring to then Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

's proposal for a cut of 56 percent in the budget for the

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) serves to foster and advance the arts, culture, and creativity throughout New York State, according to its website. The goal of the council is to allow all New Yorkers to benefit from the contribution ...

in 1991, Oldenburg called it "extremely disproportionate, a sign of the low priority Governor Cuomo puts on arts and cultural programs in general." When he retired in 1995, he became the museum's director emeritus and served as an honorary member of the institution's board of trustees.

Sotheby's

Oldenburg became Chairman of

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

North and South America operations from 1995 to 2000 and later was named Sotheby's Honorary Chairman. While at Sotheby's, he did not conduct sales but focussed on obtaining works of art for sale and conferring with museums on appraisals, acquisitions and sales. He also advised Sotheby's on its educational programs. However, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' art critic Robert Hughes, commented: "I'm sad he's being sucked into the totally pernicious cultural influence of Sotheby's and the auction system." He served as president of the

Harvard Board of Overseers The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend the Board of Overseers) is an advisory board of alumni at Harvard University. Unlike the Harvard Corporation, the Board of Overseers is not a fiduciary governing board, but in ...

from 2001 to 2002.

Death

Oldenburg died at the age of 84 at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

due to heart failure. He was survived by his brother and his wife Mary Ellen Meehan. After his death, a selection of pieces from his art collection were sold at auction, including 20th century works by

Mimmo Rotella Domenico "Mimmo" Rotella (Catanzaro, 7 October 1918 – Milan, 8 January 2006) was an Italian artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. Best known for his works of décollage and psychogeographics, made from torn advert ...

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

Ellsworth Kelly Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – December 27, 2015) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, col ...

, and

Publications

* 1998: ''Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern (2 Volume Set),''

The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, and includes over 200,000 works of arc ...

, *2002: ''A Century Of Artists Books,'' The Museum of Modern Art'','' *2002: ''Kandinsky Compositions,'' The Museum of Modern Art, *2010: ''How the Quail Earned His Topknot,'' Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC, *2012: ''The Musical Dragon: The Dragon That Wanted to Join the Band,'' Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC, *2012: ''A Curator's Quest: Building the Museum of Modern Art's Painting and Sculpture Collection, 1967-1988,'' Harry N. Abrams, *2013: ''The Three Little Green Pigs, LLC: A Recycling Pig Tale,'' Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldenburg, Richard 1933 births 2018 deaths Directors of the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) Harvard Law School alumni Harvard University administrators People associated with the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) People from Stockholm Swedish emigrants to the United States Harvard College alumni