Alfred Stevens (Belgian, 1823 - 1906), The Porcelain Collector, 1868. Oil on canvas. North Carolina Museum of Art
Collections are the foundation of museums, and behind every collection lies the story of a collector. Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, director of the Birmingham Museum of Art, discusses some of history's greatest collectors—actual and fictional—exploring what motivates these passionate gatherers and separates them from hoarders. Boettcher will also discuss how the ethics of collecting have changed, and touch on some of the new challenges and obligations collectors—both individual and institutional—face today.
Graham C. Boettcher is director of the Birmingham Museum of Art. Boettcher received his B.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University, and an M.A. from the University of Washington. Last year, when the BMA closed due to the pandemic, Boettcher launched a weekly series of live-streaming tours of the museum’s collection galleries, which was named a recommended “quarantstream” by Good Morning America and ABC News. To date, his virtual tours have garnered more than 43,000 views.
Explore the rest of the “Elephant in the Room” series here.
The “Elephant in the Room” lecture series is presented with support from Vermont Humanities.
This talk is presented with additional support from
