LOUVRE PRESIDENT ANSWERS CRITICS OF FOREIGN OUTREACH

Henri Loyrette, the president and director of the Louvre, has responded to growing criticism of the museum’s new policy of establishing footholds abroad, arguing that the Louvre cannot ignore the “internationalization” of museums, reports Lawrence Van Gelder in the New York Times. Last month, three prestigious figures of the French art world, including Françoise Cachin, former director of French museums, attacked the Louvre’s current three-year loan program to the High Museum in Atlanta, as well as a proposal to create a new “Louvre” in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. While the Louvre will receive $6.4 million for its Atlanta project, news reports suggest Abu Dhabi is willing to pay $500 million to $1 billion for the Louvre’s name, expertise, and the loan of artworks.