William Rubin was an American art scholar. From 1968 to 1988, he was an art curator and director of the painting and sculpture department at the Museum of Modern Art. He joined the military during Picasso's ''Charnel House'' , Miro's ''Birth of the World'' and two cutouts by Matisse, ''Memory of Oceania'' and ''The Swimming Pool.'' His most famous acquisition was Picasso's ''Guitar,'' a metal-construction sculpture, which Picasso gave outright from his own collection after Rubin offered to trade a Cézanne. William Rubin, the legendary curator of the Museum of Modern Art , created a legacy, by building the institution’s incomparable collection. And by creating the biggest and most important art exhibitions of the 20th century, which was Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism. Rubin was a revolutionary with the ability to solve the most difficult theories of art into simple language, a gift that won him the accolade ‘the oracle of Modernism’. A show of Picasso portraits organized by Rubin eight years after his retirement in 1988 was criticized by some because the works were arranged by Picasso’s relationship with many women. As director of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art he played a key role in shaping the museum's collections and exhibitions. Rubin died, aged 78, on 22nd January 2006 due to natural causes. Even though he died, he left a huge legacy behind which will be cherished for years after. He is one of the influential art curators of the history.
Art curators are essential to today’s society. An art curator means a lot of things. It means to preserve, in the sense of safeguarding the heritage of art. It means to be the selector of new work. It means to connect to art history. And it means displaying or arranging the work. In today’s market-driven contemporary art environment, curators retain the important task of highlighting art’s noncommercial ways. We should always encourage people in the field of art curation. It’s an important field which highlights the features and beauties of our culture.
picture: artmarketmonitor.com