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Nathalie Bondil
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Name
Nathalie Bondil
Air canada presents in the air with nathalie bondil
Nathalie Bondil (February 19, 1967), who holds both the Canadian and French citizenship, is Director General and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts since 2007. She has worked at the museum since 1999, and is the first woman to be the museum's director.
Le bureau du boss nathalie bondil mus e des beaux arts de montr al
Biography
Bondil holds a degree in art history from the École du Louvre. She successfully passed the entry examination for the École nationale du Patrimoine de Paris, in 1994, then graduated in 1996, thereby becoming Conservateur du patrimoine d'État.
From 1996 to 1998, she worked at the Musée des Monuments Français (which now forms part of the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine) as curator in charge of museography for the galeries dedicated to the 17th to 20th centuries, as part of the museum's renovation.
In 1999, Guy Cogeval, then director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, hired her as curator for European art from 1800 to 1945, and in 2000, promoted her to chief curator. She became in charge of the Curatorial Department, Conservation, the Library, Archives, Publishing and Ehxibitions.
Nathalie Bondil has been the Director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and its Chief Curator since 2007.
When she took over the helm, she launched a series of exhibitions that have distinguished the Museum on the international scene (30 cities over the last ten years) and innovative multidisciplinary programming: she invited fashion to the Museum (first retrospectives on Yves Saint Laurent and The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, presented in 12 cities around the world); opened it up to world cultures (Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon); revamped contemporary art programming (1+1=1; Peter Doig); and has introduced music through exhibitions (Warhol Live; Imagine; We Want Miles) and the creation of the Fondation Arte Musica and the daring conversion of a heritage church into a 462-seat concert hall, Bourgie Hall, which presents some 200 concerts and welcomes around 50,000 spectators each year.
In 2011, with the addition of a 4th building, The Claire and Marc Bourgie Quebec and Canadian art Pavilion, Nathalie Bondil and her team undertook the restoration and reinstallation of some 4,000 works from the collection, from world cultures to Old Masters and Canadian and contemporary art. This "reinvented Museum" includes an impressive Pavilion of Decorative Arts and Design that was recently reinstalled and an expanded sculpture garden.
In 2012, she also led the expansion of the new educational facilities for school groups and families – the Studios Art & Education Michel de la Chenelière.
Today, with the major gift of Michal and Renata Hornstein’s collection of Old Masters, the Museum is expanding again allowing for the overhaul of over 3,000 additional works: a fifth building, the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace, devoted to international art and education, was inaugurated November 2016. The first legacy for Montreal’s 375th anniversary, it houses the Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy which will give unparalleled impulse to the Museum’s educational and social mission. The MMFA comprises the largest educational complex at a North American art museum.
Since 2007, the MMFA has been undergoing unprecedented growth: it has welcomed over a million visitors two years in a row in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, being the only Canadian art museum to have accomplished that feat; it boasts over 95,000 members and over 300,000 participants to its cultural and educational programmes. And, two buildings have been added to the museum complex in less than five years.
Nathalie Bondil is Vice-Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts; Vice-President and member of the Programming Committee of the Société des célébrations du 375e anniversaire de Montréal; and a member of the Board of the Council for Canadian American Relations, the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), of the French Regional & American Museum Exchange (FRAME), the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization (CAMDO), Fonderie Darling and Liberté publication.
Exhibitions Curatorship
Metamorphoses: In Rodin’s Studio (2015), MMFA/Musée Rodin (Paris)
Marvels and Mirages of Orientalism: From Spain to Morocco, Benjamin-Constant in His Time (2015), MMFA/Musée des Augustins (Toulouse)
Once upon a Time… Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Clark (2012), MMFA/ Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
¡Cuba! Art and History from 1868 to Today (2009), MMFA/ Groninger Museum (The Netherlands)
Van Dongen: Painting the Town Fauve (2008-2009). MMFA/Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, Museu Picasso (Barcelona)
All for Art! Our Great Private Collectors Share Their Works (2007-2008), MMFA
Maurice Denis: Earthly Paradise (2006-2007), Musée d’Orsay/ MMFA/ Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto (Italy).
Catherine the Great: Art for Empire (2005-2006), MMFA/ Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto)
Voyage into Myth: French Painting from Gauguin to Matisse from the Collections of the State Hermitage Museum (2002-2003), MMFA/Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto)
Picasso Érotique (2001), Musée du jeu de Paume/MMFA/ Museu Picasso (Barcelona)
Hitchcock and Art: Fatal Coincidences (2000-2001), MMFA/Musée national d’art moderne (Paris)
Exhibition Programming
Chagall: Colour and Music (2016), MMFA/ LACMA; initiated by the Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris, and La Piscine – Musée d’art et d’industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, with the support of the Chagall Estate.
Focus: Perfection. Robert Mapplethorpe (2016), Los Angeles County Museum of Art /the J. Paul Getty Museum/ The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation/ MMFA
Toulouse-Lautrec Illustrates the Belle Époque (2016), MBAM/The Phillips Collection.
Pompeii (2016), MBAM/ ROM/ Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli et la soprintendenza Pompei.
Colours of Jazz. 1920s Modernis in Montreal. The Beaver Hall Group. (2015-2016), MMFA
From Van Gogh to Kandinsky. From Impressionism to Expressionism, 1900-1914 (2014-2015), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) / Kunsthaus Zürich / MMFA
Peter Doig: No Foreign Lands (2014), MMFA / National Galleries of Scotland (Edinburgh)
1+1=1. Les collections du Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal et du Musée d'art contemporain conversent (2014), MBAM / Musée d'art contemporain
Fabulous Fabergé (2014), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond) / MBAM
Michel Lemieux | Victor Pilon: Dreamscapes (2014), MMFA / Lemieux & Pilon 4D Art
Splendore a Venezia. Art and Music from the Renaissance to Baroque in Venice (2014), MMFA
Chihuly (2013), MMFA
Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon (2013), MMFA
Beyond Pop Art: Tom Wesselmann (2012), MMFA
Lyonel Feininger: From the Bauhaus to Manhattan (2012), MMFA
The Fashion World of Jean-Paul Gaultier. From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk (2011) MMFA / Dallas Museum of Art / San Francisco De Young Museum / Fundaciòn Mapfre, Madrid / Kunsthal Rotterdam / Arkitektur-och design centrum (Stockholm) / Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn) / Barbican Art Center (London)/ National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne) / Grand Palais (Paris) / Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung (Munich) / DDP Dongdaemun Design Plaza (Seoul).
The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta's Army (2011), Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) / MMFA
ROUGE CABARET: The Terrifying and Beautiful World of Otto Dix (2010 – 2011), Neue Galerie (New York) /MMFA
"We Want Miles". Miles Davis vs. Jazz (2010), Musée de la Musique (Paris) / MMFA
Tiffany Glass: A Passion for Colour (2010), MMFA / Musée du Luxembourg (Paris) / Virginia Fine Arts Museum (Richmond).
J. W. Waterhouse: Garden of Enchantment (2009-2010) Groninger Museum (The Netherlands) / Royal Academy of Arts (London) / MMFA.
Expanding Horizons: Painting and Photography of American and Canadian Landscape 1860-1918 (2009), MMFA / Vancouver Art Gallery
Imagine: The Peace Ballad of John & Yoko (2009), MMFA
Warhol Live: Music and Dance in Andy Warhol's Work (2008-2009), MMFA / Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh) / De Young Museum (San Francisco)
Yves Saint Laurent (2008), MMFA/Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Publications and Articles
General editorship of five guides to the MMFA’s collections:
1)Decorative Arts and Design: The Collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, volume 2 (2012). Introduction: "Decorative Arts and Design: A Collection Serving Democratic Values." MMFA.
2) Quebec and Canadian Art: The Collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, vol. 1 (2011). Introduction: "Je me souviens: A New Centre of Gravity for Quebec and Canadian Art at the Museum," MMFA/Éditions de La Martinière/Abrams.
3) The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Guide, 2nd ed. (2013).
4 Co-ordinator: The Montreal Museum of Fine ArtsGuide (Montreal: MMFA, 2003). French and English editions, 341 pp. Forty-five catalogue entries on European works of art from 1800 to 1945.
"Conflit" in Adel Abdessemed. Conflit, MBAM, 2017.
"Un musée live. La musique au Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal: écrire une partition à plusieurs mains" in Musées et Collections Publiques de France, no.274.
"Some Notes on Chagall's Magical Score. In Memory of Michal and Renata Hornstein" in Chagall and Music, MBAM/Gallimard, 2016.
"Some Notes on the Pavilion for Peace" in The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace International Art and Education. Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy, 2016.
"Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, champion du dualisme" in Architectures d’exposition au Québec, Les publications du Québec, 2016.
Co-editor of Toulouse-Lautrec illustrates the Belle Époque, exh. cat. with Dr Dorothy Kosinski (French and English versions, 128 p.). MBAM, The Phillips Collection and Éditions Hazan. Introduction with Dr Dorothy Kosinski.
Co-general editor of Metamorphoses: In Rodin’s Studio, exhib. cat. with Sophie Biass‑Fabiani (French and English editions, 304 p.), MMFA / 5 continents, 2015. "Foreword with Catherine Chevillot "We are workers whose days are never done", "Reassembled profiles of Rodin’s Method".
General editor of Benjamin-Constant: Marvels and Mirages of Orientalism (French and English editions, 399 pp.). "Foreword. From Toulouse to Montreal: the local boy who became a star in America", "Which history painting? Benjamin-Constant states his case." MMFA/Les Éditions Hazan, 2014.
"Venice, the Ideal Musical City: A Perfect Balance Between Nature’s Melody and Reason’s Harmony" in Art and Music in Venice. From the Renaissance to Baroque, exhib. cat. (French and English editions, 240 pp.), MMFA/Les Éditions Hazan, 2013.
"Dale Chihuly: From World Expos to Exhibitions of His Own Worlds" in Chihuly, exhib. cat. (French and English editions, 224 pp.), MMFA/Prestel/Del Monico Books, 2013.
"The Twenty-first Century Opposes the ‘Poaching of Memory’: From Artwork to Cultural Property: A History of Peruvian Identity" in Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon, exhib. cat. (French and English editions, 380 pp.), MMFA/5 Continents, 2013.
"Tom Wesselmann’s Bombshells: An Art Named Desire" in Tom Wesselmann, exhib. cat. (French and English editions, 206 pp.), MMFA/DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2012.
Preface: Great French Paintings from the Clark: Barbizon through Impressionism, exhib. cat. (French and English editions, 224 pp.), Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts/Skira Flammarion, 2011.
Introduction: "The Sayings of a Humanist Couturier" in The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Catwalk to the Sidewalk, exhib. cat. (English and French editions, 424 pp.), MMFA/Éditions de La Martinière/Abrams, 2011.
Introduction: "The Portrait of the Lawyer Hugo Simons by Otto Dix: From Easel to Museum, a Cautionary Tale" in Otto Dix: A Terrifying and Beautiful World, exhib. cat. (English and French editions, 258 pp.) MMFA/Neue Galerie New York/Prestel, 2010.
Introduction: "Miles: The Picasso of Jazz" in "We Want Miles": Miles Davis versus Jazz, exhib. cat. (English and French editions, 224 pp.) MMFA/Cité de la musique/Textuel, 2010.
Foreword: "‘Break That Tiffany Screen into Small Pieces’! The Fortune and Misfortune of Louis C. Tiffany" in Tiffany Glass: A Passion for Colour, exhib. cat. (English and French editions, 264 pp.), MMFA/Skira Flammarion, 2009.
Co-editor: Van Dongen (Montreal/Monaco/Paris: MMFA/Nouveau Musée National de Monaco/Hazan, 2009). English and French editions, 351 pp. Author of introduction: "Van Dongen in North America: A Montreal Tribute." pp. xi-xii.
Editor: ¡Cuba! Art and History from 1868 to Today (published in four languages, 424 pp.) Selected by the American Library Association as one of the ten best books in 2008. Editions: French (Hazan), English (Prestel), Spanish (Lunwerg) and Dutch (NAi Uitgevers/Publishers), 2008. Author of introduction: "Regarding Cuban Art." pp. 12–14.
Essay: "‘M. Cros est lui-même le Nicias de ses statues.’ Le buste d'une Écossaise par Henry Cros," La Sculpture au XIXe siècle. Mélanges pour Anne Pingeot (Paris: Éditions Nicolas Chaudun, 2008).
Editor: All for Art! Our Great Private Collectors Share Their Works (Montreal: MMFA, 2008).'English and French editions, 264 pp. Author of introduction: "All for Art! An Art of Living." pp. 11–12.
Essay: "Picasso’s Prints," Impressions of Humanity: The Freda and Irwin Browns Collection of Master Prints, exhib. cat. (Montreal: MMFA, January 2007), pp. 60–69.
Article: "Afrique sacrée: art de l’Afrique subsaharienne au Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal," Tribal Art, no. 15 (Winter 2006), pp. 70–75.
Eight catalogue entries and the essay: "Maurice Denis, Photographer: ‘The Eye Gets the Better of the Head,’" Maurice Denis: Earthly Paradise, exhib. cat., ed. J.-P. Bouillon (Paris: Musée d’Orsay/RMN, 2006), pp. 73-77.
Co-editor: Maurice Denis photographe (Paris: Éditions du Musée d’Orsay/5 continents, 2006).
Editor: Catherine the Great: Art for Empire (Montreal/Toronto/Brussels: MMFA/AGO/Snoeck, 2005). English and French editions, 334 pp. Author of chapters 1 to 6 and an essay: "‘Gluttony’ in the Fine Arts: Did Catherine II Have Taste?" pp. 169-177.
Co-ordinator: Voyage into Myth: French Painting from Gauguin to Matisse from the Collections of the State Hermitage Museum, exhib. cat. (Montreal/Toronto/Paris: MMFA/AGO/Hazan, 2002). English and French editions, 224 pp. Essay: "Fin de Siècle Nostalgia and Primitivism: Ancient Brother or New Man?"; twelve artist biographies.
Co-editor: The Montreal Museum of Fine ArtsGuide (Montreal: MMFA/Paribas, 2001). English and French editions, 135 pp. Author of the chapter: "European Art from 1800 to pp. 57-73.
Essays: "Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On: Hitchcock and Dalí, Surrealism and Oneiricism " and "Alfred Hitchcock: An Artist in Spite of Himself," and introductory texts to chapters on Hitchcock and England and the lost dreams of Spellbound, Alfred Hitchcock and Art: Fatal Coincidences, exhib. cat., G. Cogeval and D. Païni, eds. (Montreal/Milan: MMFA/Mazzotta, 2000).
Honors and districtions
2017
Prix Paul Gérin-Lajoie
designated Personnalité de l'année en culture by La Presse.
2016
Promoted to the rank of Officer des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic for her constant support of culture.
Medal of the Assemblée nationale, awarded on International Women's Day for her exceptional accomplishments.
2015
appointed Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions to the promotion of the arts and culture as a museologist and administrator.
Honorary Doctorate from the Université de Montréal for her exceptional contribution to the MMFA’s growth, the promotion of culture and education, and the strengthening of relations between the museum field and the Université de Montréal.
Prix Camille-Laurin by the Office québécois de la langue française for her remarkable commitment and contribution to the outreach of the French language in the cultural sphere and within Quebec society.
2014
Jacques Cartier Medal by the Centre Jacques Cartier.
2013
Honorary doctorate from McGill University, during the installation of professor Suzanne Fortier as 17th Chancellor and 13th Vice-Chancellor of McGill University.
Samuel de Champlain Award by the Institut France-Canada.
2012
Diamond Jubilee Medal
2011
appointed Knight of the Ordre national du Québec
received the Insigna of Merit from the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Arts and Science.
2010
Women of Distinction Award – Arts and Culture category by the Women’s Y Foundation of Montreal
2009
the catalogue of the exhibition ¡Cuba! Art and History from 1868 to Today, which she directed, was listed among the top ten artbooks of the year by the American Library Association.
designated Personnalité de la semaine by La Presse and Radio-Canada for her considerable contribution to the promotion of Montreal.
2008
appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic to spotlight her work as general curator of the exhibition ¡Cuba! Art and History from 1868 to Today, a cultural project bringing together Canada, Cuba and the United States.
Conferences and Talks
2017
Canadian Bar Association, Presidential Dinner conference, "Le musée et la censure"
gsm talk, Sound and Colour Conference, "Chagall: Colour and Music Exhibition"
Women's Canadian Club of Montreal, Montréal's World-Class Musée des beaux-arts
2016
Communicating the Museum 2016, " A Humanist Museum: Education, Art-Therpay and Social Engagement Keys of Success"
Association du barreau canadien, "Moi! La censure, jamais!"
Colloque international Histoires du/au Musée: les musées ne sont rien sans leurs histoires, "Il était des fois... au Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal"
Institut de gestion financière, "Au-delà du musée spécialiste. Manifeste pour un musée humaniste"
Institut national du patrimoine (Paris). Roundtable "module déontologie"
2015
Direction des musées de France . Seminar for Museum Directors, "Au-delà d'un musée spécialiste, un musée humaniste"
HEC Mosaic Pôle créativité et innovation: "un musée humaniste"
Innovation in Access to Justice Conference. Opening conference "The Culture of Innovation"
The Walrus Talks at Blue Metropolis: "CreaCtive Montreal: New Creative Models of Collaboration and Partnership"
Toronto Arts Summit. Pecha Kucha Presentation: "New Creative Models for Collaboration and Partnership"
2014
Conference of the Library and Information Community of Quebec, Montreal. Keynote address: "La culture de l’innovation. La course de la Reine rouge"
AQESSS: "Des arts à la santé : autres domaines, mêmes enjeux ?"
C2-Mtl: "Work in Co-Evolution not in Competition"
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal: "Le musée citoyen. Pourquoi l’art fait du bien"
2013
McGill University, Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Panel discussion :"Where Knowledge and Creativity Meet"
Alliance culturelle, Montréal: "Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal en route vers 375e anniversaire de Montréal"
American Federation of Arts, Celeste Bartos Theater at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA, New York): "Art Museum Blockbusters: Myths, Facts, and Their Future," Panel discussion, moderator, Maxwell L. Anderson, with Aaron Betsky, Glenn D. Lowry and Jennifer Russell
Leadership Nouveau, NYC, Conference on New Ideas and Strategies in the Management of Art and Culture for the 21st Century: "Innovative Museum Strategies from Montreal and Dallas," with Maxwell Anderson, Director, Dallas Museum of Art, and Zannie Voss, Chair and Professor of Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship, Meadows School of the Arts and the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University
St. James Literary Society: "Listen, Understand, Respond: We Matter – Not Transformation but Evolution for the MMFA"
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec: Opening remarks for study day "Former des lecteurs pour la vie : Concertation entre la bibliothèque publique et l’école"
2012
Congrès de la Fédération des Cégeps, Quebec City: "Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal….et des civilisations!"
Orford Arts Centre: "Le cas Debussy. Peinture et musique impressionnistes ?"
Institut national du Patrimoine, Paris: Guest at training seminars (2011/2012)
Canadian Arts Summit, Banff: "An Arts Success Story by a Major Player: The Agony and the Ecstasy of Constructing a New Pavilion and Converting a Heritage Church into a Concert Hall"
2011
Centre de recherche en droit public, Université de Montréal: "Le Musée face à la censure," Droit sur l’Art series
Association des diplômés de Polytechnique: "Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. Un grand musée au cœur d’une grande ville"
Word & Images Conference: "The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – A Reinvented Museum for
The Canadian Club, Montreal: "Opening Windows on New Worlds"
Les Grandes conférences Les Affaires : "Faites partie des vrais décideurs : maîtrisez les rouages du pouvoir formel et informel"
Orford Arts Centre: "The Rhythms of Lyonel Feininger, from Manhattan to the Bauhaus"
International Committee of Musical Instrument Museums and Collections, Musée de la musique, Paris: "The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: A New Concert Hall… New Horizons or Integrating Music into a Fine Arts Museum"
2010
Institut national du patrimoine, Paris: "Le scientifique, le bénévole et l’administrateur : un écosystème social et culturel"
Centre de recherche en droit public, Université de Montréal: "Le pillage et la restitution des œuvres d’art," with Clarence Epstein
Orford Arts Centre: "La peinture romantique de 1800 à 1850 – La couleur du sentiment : quelques notes sur les arts et la musique au temps du romantisme"
Closing lecture at the Cultiver la Ville conference marking the 5th anniversary of the Grande Bibliothèque, Montreal : "Quelques graines pour le colloque cultiver la Ville"
Canadian Arts Summit, Banff: "Music at the Museum"
Institut national du patrimoine, Paris: "Le scientifique et le manager, la situation dans le monde anglo-saxon"
2008
Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies, New York: "History of the Montreal Exhibition" at the symposium A Changing Cuba in a Changing World. Contemporary Cuban Art: Museums and Alternative Spaces".
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal: "Un plus grand musée pour une plus grand ville : Dix idées recues"
2006
Maurice Denis moderne/anti-moderne conference, Musée d’Orsay, Paris: "Peinture versus photographie : l’œil de Denis"
Hillwood Museum & Gardens, Washington: "Catherine the Great: Benefactress of the Arts and Manufactories"
Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture, New York: "Catherine the Great: Benefactress of the Arts and Manufactories"
2005
American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, 38th National Convention, Washington: "Catherine the Great, Minerva of the North"
2002
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa: "Les grands décors commandés par Chtchoukine et Morosov"
