Get to Know Max Bryant, Mia’s New Curator of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture

Bryant brings fresh eyes to the collection as well as new ideas for working with guides.

Max Bryant Credit: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Max Bryant’s move to Mia began for professional reasons—but not his own. Bryant’s wife accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin–Madison at a time when he was working for the Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture in the Faculty of Architecture and History of Art at the University of Cambridge. He began exploring museum roles near Madison, and the chance to join Mia was too exciting to pass up.

“While Minneapolis isn’t exactly close to Madison, it’s drivable twice a week—and Mia is an exceptional museum,” he says. “I’d known about it for a long time and admired the collection, which includes some of the best works of art in the country.” Insight recently connected with the James Ford Bell Associate Curator of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture to hear more about his interests and ideas for the collections he oversees at Mia.

How does Mia’s collection compare with other museums you’ve worked in or know well? I’ve worked at the Met in New York and know many of the major U.S. museum collections. Mia is distinguished by three particularly strong areas in European decorative arts and sculpture, collected in the 1910s, 1950s, and 1960s–70s. The first came from founding director Joseph Breck, who brought in late Medieval and Renaissance sculpture, large-scale woodwork, and Gothic elements. The 1950s saw the acquisition of masterpieces like Poussin’s Death of Germanicus and the Adam Lenckhardt ivory of St. Jerome. Then in the 1960s and early 1970s, Mia pioneered collecting in areas that were then off the radar, such as 18th-century Italian decorative arts. Works like the Piranesi-designed table and a silver inkstand in the form of the Fontana dei Dioscuri in Rome are today regarded as the best of their kind in the U.S.

It’s great to get your fresh perspective! You’ve now been here about eight months. What’s most surprised you about Mia? One surprise has been the strength of Mia’s antiquities collection beyond the famous Doryphoros. For example, we have a Hellenistic sculpture of a muse that is truly stunning—on par with great works in collections like the Getty’s.

Another surprise was discovering archival images of the original museum building designed by Kenzo Tange. Over the years, changes have altered the space significantly, but seeing it as Tange originally conceived it—before insertions like the architecture gallery—was remarkable. There are only two Tange buildings in the U.S., and Mia is lucky to have one.

That discovery is fascinating. How about some of your projects so far and anything you’re excited about that’s on the horizon. I curated the bronze display next to the French Salon, a textile and porcelain installation in Gallery 281 illustrating the Tales of La Fontaine, and have done several rotations. I’m also preparing a new exhibition, Timber! Art and Woodwork at the Fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It opens August 30 and focuses on Viennese art of the early 20th century, incorporating furniture and decorative arts from Mia’s collection and private loans of two Egon

Schiele paintings.

What are your longer-term ambitions for the department? Since a departmental reorganization, European art at Mia now spans from antiquity through 1970. That alignment lets us tell a more continuous story, but it also reveals gaps, particularly between the fall of the Roman Empire in the West and the middle of the Medieval period. We have nothing from Late Antiquity or the early Middle Ages, and that’s something I hope to address through future acquisitions.

Any thoughts on how you approach interpretation and working with guides? I like to create space in my work for guides and educators by not over-explaining in labels. Displays should invite conversation and discovery. One film I recommend to all guides is Frederick Wiseman’s 2014 film National Gallery, which shows how central guides are to the work of museums.

Thanks for that recommendation. I’m sure many of our guides have seen it, but for those of us who haven’t, myself included, you can bet we soon will. What’s next? I’ll be collaborating with the guide corps more directly on the Cargill Gallery exhibition and am excited to offer fresh material and a new perspective. There are some additional exhibitions in development, but they haven’t been officially announced yet. I’m also proud to be part of an excellent team led by Rachel McGarry, with colleagues Galina Olmsted and Tom Rassieur. It’s a great department with a truly stellar collection.

If any guides want to chat about the displays I’ve curated or are curious about interpretation strategies, I’m happy to connect. I hope to continue building strong ties with the guide corps as new exhibitions unfold.