Richard Oldenburg

Richard E. Oldenburg (September 21, 1933 – April 17, 2018) was the director of the Museum of Modern Art from 1972 to 1995.

Oldenburg was born in Stockholm, brother of Pop Art sculptor artist Claes Oldenburg. His mother, Sigrid Lindforss, was an opera singer in Sweden and an abstract artist. expansion of the museum building to more than double its size, increased both the museum's endowment and its attendance and helped organize several blockbuster exhibitions, including the Matisse retrospective in 1992. Other important shows during Oldenburg's tenure included "Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism" in 1989; "Vienna 1900: Art, Architecture & Design" in 1986; "Primitivism in 20th-Century Art" in 1984; "Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective" in 1980, and "Cezanne: The Late Work" in 1978. Under his direction, the museum attendance grew from 853,996 in 1972 to 1.28 million in 1992. When he retired in 1995, he became the museum's director emeritus and served as an honorary member of the institution's board of trustees. While at Sotheby's, he did not conduct sales but focussed on obtaining works of art for sale and conferring with museums on appraisals, acquisitions and sales. He also advised Sotheby's on its educational programs.

He served as president of the Harvard Board of Overseers from 2001 to 2002.

Death Oldenburg died at the age of 84 at his home in Manhattan due to heart failure. He was survived by his brother and his wife Mary Ellen Meehan.

Publications

1998: Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern (2 Volume Set), The Museum of Modern Art, 2002: A Century Of Artists Books, The Museum of Modern Art, 2002: Kandinsky Compositions, The Museum of Modern Art, 2010: How the Quail Earned His Topknot, Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC, 2012: The Musical Dragon: The Dragon That Wanted to Join the Band, Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC, 2012: A Curator's Quest: Building the Museum of Modern Art's Painting and Sculpture Collection, 1967-1988, Harry N. Abrams, 2013: The Three Little Green Pigs, LLC: A Recycling Pig Tale, Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, LLC,