To the Editors:
I am writing to express my disappointment in Eric Gibson’s commentary, “Talk Shows at the Met,” in the November 1987 issue. Although I appreciate and share Mr. Gibson’s strong negative reaction to hype, I cannot accept his blanket rejection of museum education in general. His assertion that “the museum’s desire to inform its visitors needs to be balanced against the more compelling need to allow the work of art to speak for itself” is correct, but his subsequent comments reveal a general lack of understanding for the complexities of this task. Despite his self-righteous critique of the Met’s appeal to moneyed audiences—his assertion that the Portfolio tours are very expensive is actually based on incorrect information since the tours cost $20 for the set of four tours, including admission, and are therefore quite a bargain at $1 per tour—an old-fashioned elitist bias underlies his reasoning. I sense...

 
A new initiative for discerning readers—and our close friends. Join The New Criterion’s Supporters Circle.