The Philanthropist and the Curator

The Met owes much of its extensive collection of early twentieth-century modern European decorative art to the generosity of Edward C. Moore, Jr. (1855-1937). In 1922 Moore, named for his father, the Tiffany & Co. silversmith, gave The Met $10,000, with a promise to give the same amount annually until the total reached at least $50,000. Moore made the gift to enable the museum to purchase “examples (of only the very finest quality) of the modern decorative Arts of America and Europe.” ^[1] Moore’s gift gave Joseph Breck (1885-1933), curator in the Department of Decorative Arts, the power to purchase modern decorative arts in quantity. While Breck’s acquisitions needed to be approved by The Met’s Committee on Purchases, there is no evidence to suggest that he was rebuffed in his selections. Moore, the philanthropist, and Breck, the curator, deserve shared credit for the quality of museum’s collection in this area.

Promptly following The Met’s acceptance of the gift, Breck began a buying spree. During the next two years, he traveled to Europe and purchased pottery, silver, glass, textiles, wallpaper, and furniture. Among these more than 50 purchases, costing approximately $3200, were a lady’s desk by Emile Jacques Ruhlmann (23.174a-d) and a vase by Jean Dunand, featuring an eggshell lacquer finish (23.176.5). Moore, pleased with the results what he termed this “experiment,” forwarded another $10,000 to the museum in June 1923. The Met celebrated these purchases with an exhibition of Modern Decorative Arts later that year, which was intended to help America contribute to the evolution of a new style. 

In 1925 Breck attended the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, where he was impressed by the exhibits, which he considered “pioneer work” that would benefit the next generation of designers and craftsmen, who would be “emancipated from the ‘dead hand’ of the historic styles.” ^[2]  Ironically, Breck’s purchases were examples of the type of modernism that was based on historic styles--what we now term Art Deco. One example would be Ruhlmann’s “Etat” cabinet (25.231.1), which embodies a traditional form and use of expensive materials, modernized by the stylized floriate images and the absence of applied ornament. Another example is a dressing table by Armand-Albert Rateau (25.169). While most of Breck’s purchases comprised works by male designers, he did acquire some work by women, including a “Queen of Sheba” vase by the Austrian designer Vally Wieselthier (25-233.1), manufactured by J & L Lobmeyr and shown at the Austrian Pavilion at the Exposition. Breck however seemingly had no interest in the works of the more avant-garde modern designers, such as Le Corbusier, Eileen Gray and Pierre Chareau, and The Met’s collection of Modern European decorative art still reflects these early choices.

By 1926 Moore had become concerned that the museum’s purchases were too Eurocentric. In a letter transmitting his fifth and final payment, he expressed his hope that it might be possible to find more progressive artist-craftsmen in the United States. In 1928, while adding another $5000 to his gift, Moore again conveyed his disappointment with the paucity of modern American decorative arts among the recent acquisitions that used his funds. Although the museum did purchase a few examples of modern American decorative art, its curators apparently had little interest in bringing products of American industrial design into the permanent collection. Even though examples of such works were shown over The Met’s fifteen exhibitions of American industrial design from 1917 to 1940, these were generally not acquired at the time.

Breck continued to acquire European modern decorative art until he died in 1933, while on what the New York Times referred to as his “usual Summer trip abroad on museum business.” ^[3] By this stage, only half of the Moore funds had been expended, however over the following decades The Met continued to purchase items of modern decorative art with the proceeds of the Moore gift.  

Breck’s European bias in his initial purchases created a lasting imbalance in The Met’s collections between modern European decorative art and modern American industrial design. This was finally corrected in 1998 with a major gift by John C. Waddell (b. 1937) of American industrial design from the 1920s and 1930s. Included in Waddell’s gift of more than fifty objects were a tea service designed by Eliel Saarinen (1999.27.1a-c-5) and “Continental” coffee set (2002.585.4a–d–.6) by Walter von Nessen, both of which were shown at the 1934 Contemporary American Industrial Art Exhibition held at The Met.

Nevertheless, without the Moore gift, it is unlikely that The Met’s collection of early modern European decorative art would be as strong as it is today. Moreover, Breck’s astute if preferential purchases justified Moore’s faith in the museum to use his money wisely and enabled The Met to establish a strong foundation from which to develop and expand its collections in years to come.

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[1] Edward C. Moore Jr. to the trustees, June 16, 1922, Edward C. Moore Jr., OSR, MMA Archives.

[2] Breck to Robert W. de Forest, July 4, 1925, Purchases-General-Breck, January-July 1925, OSR, MMA Archives.

[3] "Joseph Breck dies on Mission for Art," The New York Times, August 3, 1933, p.17