James Johnson Sweeney

Who was James Johnson Sweeney?

James Johnson Sweeney was a curator, and writer about modern art. Sweeney graduated from Georgetown University in 1922. From 1935 to 1946, he was curator for the Museum of Modern Art. He was the second director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, from 1952 to 1960. During his tenure, he expanded the scope of the collection to include abstract expressionist painting as well as sculpture, established the long term loans program in 1953, and the Guggenheim International Awards in 1956. He was also involved in the final years of the construction of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed museum building during which time he had an antagonistic relationship with the architect.

Sweeney collected works by:

Constantin Brâncuși

Alexander Archipenko

Alexander Calder

Alberto Giacometti

David Hayes

Willem de Kooning

Jackson Pollock

In the late 1960s, Sweeney was a consultant to the National Gallery of Australia during its establishment to advise on issues concerning the display and storage of art. Subsequently, it also acquired paintings by Pollock and de Kooning. The then Australian Prime minister, John Gorton apparently favoured him as the Gallery's first director, despite his age.