TMC PULSE

9 T M C P U L S E | F E B R U A R Y 2 02 0 T M C P U L S E | F E B R U A R Y 2 02 0 Native Houstonian, acclaimed curator and art scholar GARY TINTEROW has been leading the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for almost eight years, overseeing the campus redevelopment set to be completed by the end of 2020. A Harvard University graduate, Tinterow made his way back to his hometown after nearly three decades at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Q | What was it like growing up in Houston and what was it like to return after 40 years? A | Houston in the 1960s and '70s was an exciting environment. I went to great public schools—Pershing Middle School and Bellaire High School—and what was especially attractive to me was that the city was booming. I'm deeply interested in architecture and I could see all of those great buildings going up downtown. We had a great symphony, wonderful opera and ballet, Broadway musicals coming through town—every- thing felt accessible. I remember going backstage and telling André Previn what I thought about his performance at the symphony when he was conductor. If I had grown up in New York, I prob- ably would not have been admitted backstage to tell André Previn what I thought as a high school student. Years later, when I was a professional and curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), when people would find out I was from Houston, they would ask with some surprise, 'How did you become who you are growing up in Houston, Texas?' I would say, 'I am who I am because I grew up in Houston, Texas.' Coming back, Houston has grown enormously in the 40 years I was absent and it has improved in every dimension. It's much more diverse. It's much larger. The city has also become more affluent and that affluence has made more oppor- tunities. Houston Grand Opera is now a world- famous opera company. Our ballet is spectacular and our symphony continues at a very high level. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) has grown enormously. But it is also a continuation of that same can-do spirit and desire for excellence and a sense on the part of our city leaders, philan- thropists and cultural leaders that we should have the very best here in Houston. Q | You built your career at the Met, where you became chairman of the department of 19th-century, modern and contemporary art. In 2012, when you returned to Houston to become director of the MFAH, what lessons and experiences did you carry with you? A | While I was at the Met, I was able to enjoy an extraordinary environment that was dedicated to and focused on excellence—excellence in pro- grams, excellence in acquisitions, excellence in scholarly publications and production on the part of the staff. I think I brought those high expec- tations with me back down to Houston. At the same time, those years at the Met enabled me to develop relationships, friendships and contacts with museum professionals, collectors and artists around the world. I've been able to maintain those here and bring some of those relationships to Houston in order to further our mission. Q | The MFAH has changed dramatically under your leadership. Why was that change necessary and what is to come in the future? A | I was hired at this great moment here at the museum. I was hired specifically to fulfill the many plans that my predecessor, Peter Marzio, had in place. For the last 10 years we have been buying modern and contemporary art without galleries to display it. Before I came, the trustees acquired land across the street—the north side of Bissonnet—on which we could build something. With the constant acquisition of modern art prior to my arrival and since my arrival, and with the desire on the part of our trustees to find and to build a new facility, we will be opening the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, designed by Steven Holl, on Nov. 1, 2020. ®

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