by Kristen B.
As a native to central Maryland, I grew up regularly visiting some of the best museums in the country. My parents would herd us onto the Metro, and we would spend long days at the various Smithsonian Institution buildings – American History, Natural History, the Zoo – along with the National Gallery of Art. Everything was free and fascinating. To this day, I love to spend time in a museum. So, when I heard about All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me, read by the author, it seemed like a good choice for an audiobook for my commute. I was right about that!
Patrick Bringley turned a similar childhood love of museums into a job during a particularly stressful period of his life. When, as a young man just out of college and working for The New Yorker, Patrick got the news that his beloved older brother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, he re-evaluated many of his choices. To be able to spend as much time as possible taking care of Tom, Patrick found a less demanding job as a security guard at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This memoir illustrates ten years of Patrick’s life, in which he grieves his brother, falls in love, works in close proximity to some of the world’s most famous fine art, and moves from being a novice to a veteran at the museum. It’s a loving look at family, and a fascinating, up close view of what it’s like to spend 8-10 hours of every working day on your feet among both ancient and contemporary art. He details some of his favorite pieces, including Fra Angelico’s Crucifixion and Peter Bruegel’s The Harvesters, and he spends the better part of one chapter mesmerized by quilts and their makers. Bringley recounts camaraderie with his cohort along with amusing interactions with visitors, including the tourist parents who are looking for the dinosaurs (oops, wrong museum … will mummies do?).
This slim, beautifully written volume presents an interesting cross-section of Bringley’s life, one that reminded me of why great works of art exist – to help people of all generations and historical eras express faith, love, grief, and the human condition. The most lovely part of this book seems to be the author himself, who embodies a sort of Midwestern niceness and willingness to take the world at face value. He approaches and interacts with the art surrounding him from a genuine humility of spirit, looking for the author’s intent and the common human truths to be found. I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, but I do enjoy the occasional memoir. This was one of the best, told in a self-deprecating style that focused on the wonders (personal and creative) around the author as much as on the author himself.
The title is available in print, e-book, e-audiobook, and audiobook on CD.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball in season (but not all at the same time).
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