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The Boston Raphael: A Mysterious Painting, an Embattled Museum in an Era of Change & A Daughter’s Search for the Truth
On the eve of its centennial celebrations in December, 1969, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts announced the acquisition of an unknown and uncatalogued painting attributed to Raphael. Boston's coup made headlines around the world. Soon afterward, an Italian art sleuth began investigating the details of the painting's export from Italy, challenging the museum's right to ownership. Simultaneously, experts on both sides of the Atlantic lined up to debate its very authenticity. While these contests played themselves out on the international stage, the crisis deepened within the museum as its charismatic director, Perry T. Rathbone, faced the most challenging crossroads of his thirty-year career. The Boston Raphael was a media sensation in its time, but the full story of the forces that converged on the museum and how they intersected with the challenges of the Sixties is now revealed in full detail by the director's daughter. In her quest for the true story behind this pivotal event in her father's life, Belinda Rathbone digs into the background of the affair as it was reported in the popular press, both questioning the inevitability of its outcome and revealing the power struggle within the museum that led to his resignation. She draws almost entirely from primary source material in various archival collections and over a hundred contemporary and personal interviews. The book is lavishly illustrated with full-color plates and many previously unpublished photographs.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 5, 2015
When I saw this book during a visit to the library last week, I immediately picked it up and started browsing the pages. I like reading about museums and liked the local connection to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. When I got home, I realized it was already on my list of books to read! So a good choice. The subtitle of the book really tells why I wanted to read this: A Mysterious Painting, an Embattled Museum in an Era of Change and a Daughter's Search for the Truth.
In the beginning the writing seemed overly loaded with minutiae and disengaged from the Boston story but then I came to see that the author was really setting up the ground work not only for what happened at the MFA but for what was happening in the museum world at large and the world of art---and that includes many different aspects of it in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.
In 1965, Rathbone began the monumental task before
him, to "lay pipe" for 1970. A centennial, as some
wise person told him as he entered the planning stages,
is a fate worse than death. By the time it was over, he
would come to understand the full weight of those
words. (p 68)
Belinda Rathbone is writing about her father but keeps appropriate emotional distance and seems to write very even-handedly, with attributions from many people who were there (or were quoted at the time).
This is very interesting not only as a picture of what happened during the tenure of Perry Rathbone at the MFA, but also for all the history of American museums in general, the inner workings of museum management at that time when a shift from art to business mode was under way. Also there are glimpses of the less than glorious side of the art "trade," the politics and maneuvering going on. Lots to read about.
I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the art world.
In the beginning the writing seemed overly loaded with minutiae and disengaged from the Boston story but then I came to see that the author was really setting up the ground work not only for what happened at the MFA but for what was happening in the museum world at large and the world of art---and that includes many different aspects of it in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond.
In 1965, Rathbone began the monumental task before
him, to "lay pipe" for 1970. A centennial, as some
wise person told him as he entered the planning stages,
is a fate worse than death. By the time it was over, he
would come to understand the full weight of those
words. (p 68)
Belinda Rathbone is writing about her father but keeps appropriate emotional distance and seems to write very even-handedly, with attributions from many people who were there (or were quoted at the time).
This is very interesting not only as a picture of what happened during the tenure of Perry Rathbone at the MFA, but also for all the history of American museums in general, the inner workings of museum management at that time when a shift from art to business mode was under way. Also there are glimpses of the less than glorious side of the art "trade," the politics and maneuvering going on. Lots to read about.
I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the art world.
January 25, 2016
Anyone working in the museum field should read this book. The author does an excellent job describing the convoluted, Machiavellian politics and major changes since the 1960s in American museums. This book has broad appeal to anyone who loves art, art-history, and the often grey areas in the acquisition of objects, both past and present. It also makes one think about the future of museums and historical art objects.
December 27, 2024
Perry Rathbone was a congenial, well-liked, well-respected, and innovative art museum director who took the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to soaring levels of attendance and membership. But he was unfortunate to be at the helm during a time of great change, when a Trumpish-style board president decided to model the museum along the lines of a corporate enterprise. The president even set up an office for himself inside the museum and essentially tried to run things behind the director.
Museums are always competing with each other to make great acquisitions, and Perry was looking for a piece that would really seal his reputation. A supposedly never-before seen Raphael painting was offered for sale, and he went after it. There were some poor decisions made that involved one of Perry's trusted employees being accused of smuggling Italy's patrimony out of the country without permission, and not declaring it at customs. A PR disaster ensued as Italy made a big stink about it. On top of that, experts go back and forth over whether it actually IS by Raphael. The picture was eventually returned to Italy, where it sits unseen in storage. What a waste. I think the picture is lovely regardless and how silly to stash it away. It might as well have been left in Boston.
Anyway, Perry was asked to resign and the whole thing hung over him the rest of his life. Morale and attendance at the museum plummeted when he left. The book was written by his daughter. I think she did an even-handed job at portraying her father.
Museums are always competing with each other to make great acquisitions, and Perry was looking for a piece that would really seal his reputation. A supposedly never-before seen Raphael painting was offered for sale, and he went after it. There were some poor decisions made that involved one of Perry's trusted employees being accused of smuggling Italy's patrimony out of the country without permission, and not declaring it at customs. A PR disaster ensued as Italy made a big stink about it. On top of that, experts go back and forth over whether it actually IS by Raphael. The picture was eventually returned to Italy, where it sits unseen in storage. What a waste. I think the picture is lovely regardless and how silly to stash it away. It might as well have been left in Boston.
Anyway, Perry was asked to resign and the whole thing hung over him the rest of his life. Morale and attendance at the museum plummeted when he left. The book was written by his daughter. I think she did an even-handed job at portraying her father.
December 8, 2020
The Boston Raphael offers an intriguing insight into the complicated and often fractious management of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts during the mid-1960s through the early '70s. Under the leadership of Perry Rathbone, the museum flourished until a tiny portrait painted by Raphael purchased by the museum threw the usual going on inside the museum into a tailspin.
May 8, 2025
If you work in Development at the MFA, boy oh boy do I have the book for you
September 29, 2025
Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but I have to believe that anyone who's seriously interested in art and loves art museums, art history, and is eager to know how art is accessioned into art museums, would quickly fall in love with this book. Certainly, I did.
Author Belinda Rathbone tells the story of how her father Perry Rathbone became one of the most influential museum directors in the United States. Rathbone is described as a tall, well-dressed, good-humored, and amiable guy who is deeply passionate about art and art collecting. Rathbone was one of "the first generation of Harvard-trained museum professionals." He studied under Paul Sachs, who was more than a partner in the financial firm Goldman Sachs. He was the director of Harvard's Fogg Art Museum for thirty years (1915 to 1945).
Rathbone began his career as a museum director (1940-1955)`at what's now known as the St. Louis Art Museum (previously, the City Art Museum of St. Louis). After a fifteen-year tenure, he moved on to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and served as its director from 1955-1972. The book's author, Belinda Rathbone, describes her father as enthusiastic man who was eager to advance and modernize art museums. Rathbone updated the Boston museum with better lighting, auditoriums, restaurants, gift shops, volunteers, and, of course, art acquisitions.
As this book clearly shows, Perry Rathbone didn't hesitate to take risks. Sometimes this worked out in his favor and at other times, it didn't work out. In fact, some people characterized Rathbone as Icarus--a naive, mythical dreamer, who naively flew too close to the sun and became burned.
Rathbone's most serious troubles began in 1969 when he traveled to Genoa, Italy, and purchased a small, enigmatic painting of a young girl, which was purported to be painted by the Italian Renaissance master Raphael.
When he returned to Boston, in December 1969, there was huge fanfare over the painting once it arrived at the Boston art museum. Celebrations began with a press conference, a special dinner with trustees, a lecture, and so much more.
The press bombarded Rathbone with questions: Is it a real Raphael? How do you know? But Rathbone did not know. The art experts in Italy, based on conversations with Rathbone, pointed out markings on the painting that seemed to be of Raphael's style. Yet, that did not mean it was an actual Raphael.
The controversy over this painting would haunt Rathbone, especially being bombarded with questions about the painting that he could not answer.
This would haunt Rathbone throughout his directorship.
Yet, this was only the beginning of Rathbone's problems. He had not "declared" the painting to customs when it entered the United States. Thus, the U.S. government accused Rathbone of smuggling it into the United States.
This is a fascinating read and offers great insights into the workings of a contemporary art museum.
Author Belinda Rathbone tells the story of how her father Perry Rathbone became one of the most influential museum directors in the United States. Rathbone is described as a tall, well-dressed, good-humored, and amiable guy who is deeply passionate about art and art collecting. Rathbone was one of "the first generation of Harvard-trained museum professionals." He studied under Paul Sachs, who was more than a partner in the financial firm Goldman Sachs. He was the director of Harvard's Fogg Art Museum for thirty years (1915 to 1945).
Rathbone began his career as a museum director (1940-1955)`at what's now known as the St. Louis Art Museum (previously, the City Art Museum of St. Louis). After a fifteen-year tenure, he moved on to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and served as its director from 1955-1972. The book's author, Belinda Rathbone, describes her father as enthusiastic man who was eager to advance and modernize art museums. Rathbone updated the Boston museum with better lighting, auditoriums, restaurants, gift shops, volunteers, and, of course, art acquisitions.
As this book clearly shows, Perry Rathbone didn't hesitate to take risks. Sometimes this worked out in his favor and at other times, it didn't work out. In fact, some people characterized Rathbone as Icarus--a naive, mythical dreamer, who naively flew too close to the sun and became burned.
Rathbone's most serious troubles began in 1969 when he traveled to Genoa, Italy, and purchased a small, enigmatic painting of a young girl, which was purported to be painted by the Italian Renaissance master Raphael.
When he returned to Boston, in December 1969, there was huge fanfare over the painting once it arrived at the Boston art museum. Celebrations began with a press conference, a special dinner with trustees, a lecture, and so much more.
The press bombarded Rathbone with questions: Is it a real Raphael? How do you know? But Rathbone did not know. The art experts in Italy, based on conversations with Rathbone, pointed out markings on the painting that seemed to be of Raphael's style. Yet, that did not mean it was an actual Raphael.
The controversy over this painting would haunt Rathbone, especially being bombarded with questions about the painting that he could not answer.
This would haunt Rathbone throughout his directorship.
Yet, this was only the beginning of Rathbone's problems. He had not "declared" the painting to customs when it entered the United States. Thus, the U.S. government accused Rathbone of smuggling it into the United States.
This is a fascinating read and offers great insights into the workings of a contemporary art museum.
January 8, 2015
How can I possibly review this book after Sebastian Smee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic for The Boston Globe, has already done so, and given it a rave? I will just say, in a wee little amateur voice, that it's fascinating, well-written, both familiar and surprising, and that it probably has a wider appeal than one might think. For whom? For anyone who loves art, who believes in museums, who thinks --sometimes too often--about issues of governance, transparency, leadership, ethics, and provenance. Am I boring you yet? Please don't be put off by what I've just written, for in addition to all that, it's one superlative, and objective biography of a man, Perry T. Rathbone; a terrific history of a place, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and a time, the era of the first 'professionally' trained museum directors, the men( yes, only men) who took the famous Harvard course taught by the legendary Paul Sachs. This was just my cup of flat white.
June 7, 2015
A must-read for anyone in the museum world, this account of the debacle at the MFA's centennial celebration is a cautionary tale. The book is beautifully researched and written by Perry Rathbone's daughter. If it's a bit on the hagiographic side, I can forgiver her. Rathbone emerges as a sympathetic and talented man who got thrown under the bus by his trustees. It's never a good idea to tangle with them. They do the hiring and firing, after all.
October 6, 2024
This book was very interesting! I never knew so much went into running a museum…acquisitions, exhibitions, loans and funding to name a few! Even though Rathbone’s daughter wrote the book, I feel she was very objective. In my opinion, Seybolt and Us Customs were at fault for the loss of the painting. Now it is languishing in conservation, when the public could be viewing it and deciding for themselves who painted it!! Boo, Siviero, Italy and US customs!!!
November 29, 2025
EXCELLENT! ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HOW AN ART MUSEUM WORKS AND HOW THEY GET THEIR PAINTINGS ETC THIS IS FOR YOU. WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE ARE THE REAL LIFE CHARACTERS IN IT AND ESPECIALLY PERRY RATHBONE. I HAVE TOO MUCH TO SAY AND DON'T KNOW HOW TO KEEP IT SHORT SO I'LL JUST BE QUIET AND THANK MY FRIEND WHO GAVE IT TO ME AS A GIFT AND WHAT A GIFT IT IS!!!
October 28, 2016
I really did want to like this. Unfortunately it was not well written and not objectively written. Read like a book written by a kid who loved and looked up to her dad; wait a minute- it was!!
July 28, 2018
very readable and an interesting inside look at museum operations. makes me want to visit boston again.
March 15, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this book which is part history part detective story and centers on the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) during the years it was directed by Perry Rathbone, 1955-1972. The book, written by Rathbone's daughter Belinda, provides keen insights into the world of American art, museums, and the city of Boston while exploring the episode in her father's life that led to his resignation from the MFA. That episode, the purchase by Rathbone of a small painting thought to be a lost Raphael gives the book its title, the Boston Raphael. Rathbone's purchase of the painting while itself legal was followed by a series of legal missteps in bringing the art into America and in authenticating whether it was or was not a genuine Raphael. The reputation of both Rathbone and the MFA suffered when the public learned of the legal troubles but Belinda suggests that Rathbone's downfall was engineered by George Seybolt who was president of the Board of Trustees of the MFA. Seybert was head of the William Underwood co, known for their deviled ham, and tried to bring the corporate mentality into the MFA with disastrous results. Readers should be advised that the narrative is overly sympathetic to Rathbone and too hard on Seybolt but can decide for themselves.
October 29, 2016
If you're an art enthusiasts, you'll love this book. If you're not, you'll still enjoy it. Belinda tells the story of her father, the director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and his quest to make the 100-anniversary celebration spectacular by purchasing a Raphael from what turns out to be questionable sources in Italy. She does great research, but I feel there are some arguments she failed to conclude fully. The book does give you an insight to museum directors and how they operate. The chapters include footnotes, which are at the back of the book. This made it difficult to read with one hand as I had to flip back and forth, and sometimes the footnote wasn't necessary as she tagged the quote in the text.
March 25, 2015
Very interesting, particularly as I live in Boston, go to the MFA regularly and have heard of some of the characters. Although I am old enough to have followed the story as it happened, I didn't and both stories, the painting and the politics, were fascinating. I wonder if I saw the painting while it was displayed.
April 12, 2016
I live in Boston and love the MFA so I was interested to read this local history. Well written and interesting -- a loving and mostly even handed testament by the subject's daughter. So sad that the painting has dropped out of view.
December 4, 2023
An interesting story, made more relevant by the author’s placement of the particulars within the context of the times. I would have liked more biography, but I think her aim was to not succumb to subjectivity.
November 13, 2014
A really good story, and the local setting is particularly interesting in the Boston area.
Read
April 29, 2022Another abandoned book. The topic intrigued me but it was more information on background of art museums than I cared about. Maybe later.
February 6, 2025
This should’ve been an interesting story, but the book itself is so boring
February 16, 2015
An interesting read, lots to think about how art is "owned".
December 23, 2017
Where to start with this book? It bills itself as the story of a disputed Raphael painting which came through the MFA in the 60s. Instead it’s 3/4 a biography of the author’s father, Perry Rathbone, who was the museum director responsible. And let me tell you, I haven’t taken a lot of art history classes, but her excuses for him are pretty thin. He found a supposed Raphael at a dealer in Italy, did almost zero research, brought in only one outside expert (one was provided by sketch-o dealer), and basically smuggled it into the states. Pro tip: if the dealer you are working with accepts 40% less than his asking price right off the bat and then makes a ton of demands about getting it into the States with NO provenance? Shady as fuck. Also, they return the painting to Italy, but then she glosses over the demotion from a Raphael (to be fair she glosses over all the US skeptics too) and acts like her father was some kind of ignorant tool of a larger conspiracy. It would have been so interesting to learn how Italy decided it was not a Raphael!! Anyway. Was Rathbone good for the MFA? Yes. Should he have been fired for the Raphael fiasco? Hells yes. In the aftermath of WWII, with a lack of provenance, they never should have moved so fast, among many other factors.
Also, smaller vetch: the number of casually sexist statements in this book really boiled my blood. “Feminine talent for social entertaining?” Fuck off. Do better. Little things like that are scattered throughout, and it just made me angry.
Also, smaller vetch: the number of casually sexist statements in this book really boiled my blood. “Feminine talent for social entertaining?” Fuck off. Do better. Little things like that are scattered throughout, and it just made me angry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews