Challenging Cultural Philanthropy: Investigating how private museums promote a distinct sign value through their architecture and collections

Examining the relationship between private art museums and elite legitimisation contributes to understanding postmodern philanthropy. Private museums shape a new museum landscape, proposing a display of art no longer driven by public funding, regulations, or state approval. The rise of private museums is linked to a growing desire by economic elites to embellish their reputation and public image by offering a justification for their wealth. Founders use their collections or loan artworks from public museums for display in their museums to engage with the public under the guise of cultural philanthropy. Over the last twenty years, private museums have significantly increased in numbers. That increase brought to the fore private museums’ problematic effects on public museums, their influence on the public’s taste and the contemporary art world. This thesis examines how three private museums, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, the Leeum Museum of Art and the Boros Collection, craft a...Show moreExamining the relationship between private art museums and elite legitimisation contributes to understanding postmodern philanthropy. Private museums shape a new museum landscape, proposing a display of art no longer driven by public funding, regulations, or state approval. The rise of private museums is linked to a growing desire by economic elites to embellish their reputation and public image by offering a justification for their wealth. Founders use their collections or loan artworks from public museums for display in their museums to engage with the public under the guise of cultural philanthropy. Over the last twenty years, private museums have significantly increased in numbers. That increase brought to the fore private museums’ problematic effects on public museums, their influence on the public’s taste and the contemporary art world. This thesis examines how three private museums, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, the Leeum Museum of Art and the Boros Collection, craft a powerful sign value to legitimise their founder’s personal, social and economic status.Show less

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Challenging Cultural Philanthropy: Investigating how private museums promote a distinct sign value through their architecture and collections