It can’t have been easy succeeding the mellifluous Metropolitan Museum of Art director Philippe de Montebello, but his successor, Tom Campbell, is making his mark. His dry humor enlivens many a press outing, especially when he refers to a slide of ancient art as “the money shot.” Raised in England, Campbell came to New York 18 years ago as a junior curator specializing in tapestries. “I guess I worked my way up,” says Campbell, whose wife and children are American and who’s just applied for citizenship himself. “I inherited a great museum and am doing what I can to build on that and make it greater.” That effort continues tomorrow, when the Met will be open seven days a week, including Mondays. And yes, please pay what you wish! Here’s what’s in his library.
Nine Lives
by William Dalrymple
I had my first visit to India recently, and it was revelatory. One hears how India’s a place of extremes, but you’re never prepared for the reality — the splendors, the smoke, the sacred cows walking across the roadway. William is a charismatic Brit living in New Delhi who captures the technicolored extremes I saw there.
The Jeeves Omnibus
by P.G. Wodehouse
My father used to read P.G. Wodehouse to me, my brother and sister, and I dip into this often. He concentrates on a very nominal scene: pre-WWII England seen through rose-colored spectacles. I think these books are precursors to “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Woodhouse weaves together the most unlikely narrative strands in a hilarious way.
Screw Business as Usual
by Richard Branson
This is Branson’s second memoir. I met him on a business retreat organized by Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of the company he founded. The theme was how business leaders can improve society. I was skeptical at first, but here was living evidence that if you care passionately, you can change the world.
The Monuments Men
by Robert M. Edsel
This is a history about the men and women in the American armed forces who, during WWII, tried to stop the damage to great works of art and, after the war, tried to return tens of thousands of works the Nazis plundered. Some of these men and women worked at the Met. The book inspired the George Clooney movie coming out in the fall.