One of the mysteries of the arts is how an artist becomes an artist. We know that very few trained and talented visual artists actually make careers in the arts. We know, heartbreakingly so, that even very dedicated and inspired artists fail to claim and hold attention for their work....

So often, we hear that music education is being cut away in American schools, leaving our children without the preparation to play instruments, to listen creatively, to sing or read music or write it. Usually this lament is slapped against a magical, perhaps mythical, memory of a past when, as...

I love it when an obligation becomes an opportunity. When I was asked to speak at a recent gathering of FAPE (the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies) the obligation became just that: an opportunity. An opportunity to think about American art and artists abroad in the...

I have been thinking, and then thinking some more, about small arts institutions -- about why and how they matter. We know that there are a great many arts organizations in this country; perhaps, we are sometimes told, there are too many arts organizations. But when I think about museums...

Recently, I visited the Demuth Museum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Demuth is run by a fine young professional, Anne Lampe. At the Demuth, I discovered a museum with remarkable buildings, collections and programs. I saw work I hadn't seen and I learned a lot. What I learned from...

We are surrounded by art and beauty -- all of us, wherever we live, whatever we do. Our challenge is to recognize and relish it. Let me explain.

First, I have had a lifelong love affair with art and have been fortunate to have studied in, learned from, guided...

Where do the arts fit in relation to other important parts of our society? Where are they situated in the consciousness of our time? I find myself thinking about this a lot, worrying that the fit is, in a word, bad. All too often in our society, the arts are...

All of us are worried about the economy. All of us know people who have lost their jobs, or young people who can't find jobs. Endowments are down at universities and foundations; savings and retirement funds are down for individual Americans. Day to day, decision by decision, life is harder...

There's a lot to be learned from visiting art museums - walking their corridors, perusing exhibitions, looking at the varied work on the walls. We know, when we are inside MoMA or the Met or any of the other great museums in this country, that we are experiencing...

In Act One of their administration - the well-lit, heavily reviewed and widely watched opening months - Barrack and Michelle Obama have positioned themselves actively in the arts. For the country, and especially for those of us interested in culture, it has been remarkable to see how quickly and...

Among the many treasures on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this month are fifty-eight works of art by New York City public school kids. Handsomely set along the corridors of the Uris Education Center, these works were judged from a thousand submissions to the annual competition offered by...