Gallery Manners

Twentieth Century-Fox founder Darryl F. Zanuck who

was very much a regular kind of guy was visiting the Louvre

one day with friends in between meetings - and loudly

declares to his party: "Hurry up. We gotta be outa this joint

in twenty minutes!"

The bottom-line is, if you say something out of place

or make a verbal blunder... Don't sweat it!  By using

common sense and a polite attitude you'll be just fine. But

there are some common situations, which you are better-off

forewarned about.

Taking pictures in a gallery of any artwork is

definitely considered bad manners. The artist who

produced the work owns the copyright to it, and the gallery

has the license to display these works. But the gallery's

rights do not extend to people taking photographs. A lot of

artists have become leery of people walking around with

high-end digital cameras and using photos to create

knockoffs of their works.

Also put your cell phone on silent or off, should

you need to speak on the phone be sure to go outside.  If

you happen to be with kids allow them to enjoy the art but

be sure neither you nor they touch or tear anything. Your

definition of broken and the gallery's will be very

different. Even a small mistake of this nature could leave

you with a huge bill. If you have a doubt about touching or

taking a picture feel free to ask.