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THIS WEEK’S NEW EPISODE
This week’s guest is Renée Dreyfus, the curator in charge of ancient art at Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. For fifty (50!) years, Renée has been educating the public about the distant past, and this year she oversaw two major exhibitions: “The Etruscans” at the Legion of Honor, and “Treasures of the Pharaohs” at the de Young Museum. We talk about what makes “Pharaohs” different from other ancient Egyptian exhibitions, why these objects can still surprise & delight us, and what Renée has learned since she was “the girl curator” for the Boy King Tutankhamun in 1979.
Find the podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify — or find your favorite app here! A full transcript of this episode is available here.
BEHIND THE SCENES
👑 “You’ve got Queen Baddie in the house!”
Renée is the first guest on the podcast who I knew of before I ever met her. I wish I could say that was because of her many great exhibitions, but actually it was a video about “The Etruscans,” in which she talks in Gen Z slang: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube.
If you’re a user any of those apps in the Bay Area, or you’ve taught the algorithm to show you museum content (my people!), then maybe you saw that viral video, too. I have no idea if it translated into increased ticket sales for the museum, but even if it didn’t, I love the fact that FAMSF made it.
I was talking with someone recently about “fear of museums” (likely a topic for a future episode!) and people who don’t feel welcome in these spaces. If you didn’t grow up going to museums, or you haven’t been to one in a while, or you’ve had a bad experience in a museum, the mental hurdle of going to one can feel insurmountable.
Renée’s viral video sneakily manages to teach you a lot about the Etruscans and why they mattered. But more importantly, it demonstrates that museums don’t have to be exclusive, self-important places. Why shouldn’t we be playful with history?
— Eric
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IN MY INBOX
💎 The Wadsworth, Van Gogh, and the jewelry heist at the Louvre
CC BY-SA 3.0 - Daderot
The k to the a left us a very nice 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: “Love to learn more about museums! Please do an episode on
Chick Austin and the Wadsworth!” I sincerely appreciate the review, but I’m also excited that it’s about a museum I’ve never been to, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Conn. Looks amazing, added to the list! Take some inspiration from k to the a, and go recommend a museum in our reviews. [Apple Podcasts]
Those two paintings that were stolen from the Renoir Museum in France (previously) have been recovered, and police have arrested six suspects. “Both works were damaged and will need restoration. One of the paintings, ‘Madame Colonna Romano’, had been torn.” [Reuters]
One of my favorite museums I’ve ever been to, The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, was threatening to shut down unless it got the money for “essential renovations.” Apparently they got it: “After a three-year feud that included often bitter negotiations and a legal complaint, the museum said in a statement last week that its future had been ‘secured.’” [New York Times (gift link)]
A podcast recommendation for after you finish this week’s episode: Heist at the Louvre, an episodic deep dive into the 2025 robbery of jewelry valued at around $100 million. It’s hosted by ABC News’ James Longman, who got some great quotes out of his interviewees. [Heist at the Louvre]
THE GIFT SHOP
🎁 Eye want to give you this!
Everyone who subscribes to this newsletter before November 10 has been entered into our Gift Shop Giveaway! (Full rules here)
(Not subscribed yet? You can do that right here.)
One of the prize packages will include a glasses case from the Treasures of the Pharaohs exhibition, which I bought in the museum gift shop. The winner will also get stickers, postcards, and maybe some surprise goodies!
💪 How to help the podcast:
Tell a friend: Forward this email to a museum lover in your life
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Before we go … I couldn’t find a way to work it into the episode, so here’s one of the best songs about a museum exhibition: Steve Martin singing about “Treasures of Tutankhamun,” which toured the world and drew massive crowds to the de Young in 1979.