PHIL AND RON
by Charlie Finch

One of the more poignant art happenings around was beamed into my living room recently on the NYC-ARTS program, as Emmy Award-winning retired museoiste Philippe de Montebello sat down at the Neue Gallery to interview Ronald Lauder about the latter's collection, 10 percent of which has been on view at the museum (now replaced by Gustav Klimt). It was rather like watching Haydn and Mozart, as boy prodigies, riff off each other on the clavinet in the same room, with Lauder, who has never suffered fools gladly, surprisingly vulnerable to Philippe's gentle, yet pinpoint questioning.

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