Sacred and Stolen: Confessions of a Museum Director

Synopsis

Art Museum Director Gary Vikan Lays Bare The Messy Underbelly Of Museum Life In His Revealing Memoir Sacred And Stolen. From Looted Antiquities And Crooked Dealers To Fakes, Inside Thefts, Bribery, And Failed Exhibitions, Vikan’s Revelations Are Both Shocking And Sometimes Comical. A Minnesota Kid Who Started Out As A Printer’s Devil, Vikan Ended Up As The Director Of The Walters Art Museum In Baltimore. Sacred And Stolen Details His Quest To Bring The “holy” Into The Museum Experience As He Struggles To Reconcile His Passion For Acquiring Sacred Works Of Art With The Suspicion That They Were Stolen. Among The Cast Of Characters On His Many Adventures Are The Elegant French Oil Heiress, Dominique De Menil, The Notorious Turkish Smuggler, Aydın Dikmen, And His Slippery Dutch Dealer, Michel Van Rijn. Sacred And Stolen Is A Truly Eye-opening Account Of Art Dealing In The Modern World.-- Finding My Religion -- Sailing Toward Byzantium -- Saving A Gold Key From The Toilet -- Trouble With Fakes -- Seduced By Saint Peter -- Call After Midnight, Paris Time -- Working The Numinous -- I Loved To Fondle It -- All The Red Flags Are Up -- The Men Who Knew Too Much -- Vomiting Blood -- My Father's Obit -- Ready To Explode -- Getting Beat Up With Shevardnadze -- A Mitzvah Acquisition -- Working For The President -- They'll Scare Away The Rich Old Ladies -- Living With Loot -- The Mysterious Mr. Egrette. Gary Vikan. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.