Who are the artists that people who know nothing about art know? Van Gogh? Michelangelo? Picasso? For museums trying to bring traffic through their doors, drawing in the non-art lover is more important than ever. Shows such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris offer enough for the devotee of modern art to sink their teeth into while being accessible enough for newbies to cut their teeth on it, too. In addition to presenting a great artist to the public, Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris provides a textbook example of how museums can maximize their own collections to maximize their profits and chances for survival. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Yo, Pablo."
[Image: Tea Time (Woman with a Teaspoon), 1911. Jean Metzinger (French, 1883-1956). Oil on cardboard, 29 7/8 x 27 5/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.]
[Many thanks to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for providing me with the image above and press materials for Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris, which runs through April 25.]
