観光における美術館の機能と運営法－ニューヨーク市にみる実例－

抄録

The role of museums and art galleries in tourism has recently been regarded as important, since tourists have trended to travel with the purpose of enriching their culture and education by sightseeing historical monuments and appreciating fine arts rather than of mere relaxation. Historically, this can be traced back to the Grand Touring which was a tour for culture and education among the high society in the 18th and 19th centuries to visit, especially, the ancient sites of Greek and Rome and to appreciate fine arts of the Italian Renaissance. In Europe, a number of museums of art were established as the public institution when royal or aristocratic posessions and collections were given to the nation. On the contrary, in the U.S.A., they are largely based upon collections donated by private citizens to museums, for example, the great collection of the National Gallery Washington D. C. were provided by A. W. Mellon, one of the millionaires in 1920s in this country. The characteristic of museums of arts in the U. S. A, is that they are dependant on the donation by private citizens for the works of art in the collection, and the administration is actually carried not by government but by the board of trustees which consists of big donaters to the museum. This original system which cannot be realized in Europe nor in our country has succeeded to make museums in the U. S. A. more popular as object of tourism because of the flexiblity of operation following the public opinion: what the visitors of museums including a large number of tourists want. There are 157 museums in New York City and they are various in scale and the character. It is remarkable the New York City Tourist Authority organizes special tours for tourists who are interested in fine art, architecture and activities of museums. For example, ‘Culture Bus’ runs around Manhattan to serve convenience of visiting important museums. This paper is a report upon the function and operation of the most popular museums which have original character in tourism, researched during my stay in New York City in spring 1982. It can be noted the elements making museums more attractive object in tourism: exquisit display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art; original building designed by F. L. Light in the S. R. Guggenheim Museum; precious private collection in the Flick Collection; and representation of medieval European architecture and fine arts in the Cloisters.