Art of Oceania, Africa and the Americas from the Museum of Primitive Art

Not too many decades ago the art of the Middle Ages was still called primitive, barbaric, crude, and inexpressive. How curious that seems today! Not too many years ago the arts of the peoples who lived in Africa, the regions of the Pacific, and the ancient Americas were still looked upon by some as ethnological specimens or as images of an interesting but lesser nature wedded too closely to magical practices, fear, and superstition. How very one­ sided and harsh those judgments seem today when we con­ front these works of art of such expressive power, subtlety, and beauty in this fme exhibition, Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas! This exhibition of works of art gathered together for The Museum of Primitive Art by Nelson A. Rockefeller, a col­ lector of high perception, rare sensitivity, and great en­ thusiasm, is an extraordinarily important event for the Metropolitan. It marks the first time in the 99-year history of the Metropolitan that works of art from these civilizations have ever been shown in a major exhibition. Thus, this stunning show constitutes a truly significant moment of coming of age for this Museum, which is in essence a great encyclopedia of man-created achievements. But, even more important, Art of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas affords our public a splendid opportunity to see works of art of in­ comparable quality: sculptures of wood, stone, and terra­ cotta, precious and semiprecious stone, treasures of gold and silver, of superb textiles and wondrous feathers. And the name of the Metropolitan is, after all, quality.