Art History Detective

King of the Confessors is the kind of book that might have inspired Dan Brown to write a suspense novel about an art historian.  It’s actually a memoir about Thomas Hoving and the museum that employed him in his quest for a work of art.  Along the way you learn something of the world of museums and art historians during the early 1960s.  Hoving is a successful man of that era (when tall, white men with the right connections unabashedly ruled the world—at least in New York City).  It is a long, rather self-indulgent book by today’s standards (a museum curator doesn’t have enough celebrity to be published in hard back today).  The story reveals a lot about recovery of art stolen during World War II, and the less than legitimate methods museums used to add to their collections.  I enjoyed following Hoving’s research and discovery about the ivory cross.   The cross turns out,  despite its beauty and craftsmanship, to contain a disheartening coded message.

There are some interesting characters—especially the antagonist, a man of many names—and there are a few unexpected plot twists.  However, do not expect a Dan Brown novel!

The book is out-of-print, but second-hand copies are available through Amazon.