Why the Museum Matters

Daniel H. Weiss is Homewood Professor of the Humanities at Johns Hopkins University and president emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he served from 2015 to 2023. He is the author of In That Time: Michael O’Donnell and the Tragic Era of Vietnam and Remaking College: Innovation and the Liberal Arts.

“The considered voice of a man used to making democratic not autocratic decisions. Museums should be . . . collaborative . . . places that offer safe curated spaces within which to contemplate things bigger than ourselves.”—Charlotte Mullins, Country Life“Why the Museum Matters is an excellent and unflinching assessment of the current conditions, ambitions, and limitations of the contemporary American art museum.”—James Cuno, president and CEO, J. Paul Getty Trust“Daniel Weiss’s informed and personal account explores inclusivity, transparency and trust in governance, plurality in universality, and the value of shared knowledge in the public sphere. The book is not only a good read, it should matter to all museums and their communities looking to the future.”—Elizabeth Cropper, dean emerita, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art“Daniel Weiss is a noted scholar and a gifted leader who brings a wealth of experience to his understanding of museums. His timely questions and insights about museums and their opportunities and responsibilities, makes for an important book.”—Glenn D. Lowry, The David Rockefeller Director, The Museum of Modern Art“Daniel Weiss’s language is accessible, but his ideas are complex, thought provoking, strategic, and encouraging for the museum’s future. In Weiss’s view, the museum should be challenged, but ultimately it is resilient, a reflection of that same attribute in our culture, in our democracy, and, perhaps, also in ourselves.”—Courtney J. Martin, Paul Mellon Director, Yale Center for British Art