Ethnicity, Class and Trusteeship at African-American and Mainstream Museums

Abstract

While Pierre Bourdieu argues that cultural capital is grounded in distinct aesthetic knowledge and tastes among elites, Francie Ostrower emphasizes that cultural capital grows out of the social organization of elite participation in the arts. This article builds on Ostrower’s perspective on cultural capital, as well as Milton Gordon’s concept of the ethclass group and Prudence Carter’s concept of black cultural capital, to elaborate how culture’s importance for class and ethnic cohesion is rooted in the separate spheres of arts philanthropy among black and white elites. The argument is empirically illustrated using the case of arguably the most prominent mainstream and African-American museums in New York City – the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) and the Studio Museum in Harlem (SMH). Findings show that relative to the Met board the SMH board is an important site of unification for elite blacks, and in comparison to the SMH board, the Met board is a notable site of cohesion for elite whites. This article advances theory and research on cultural capital by elaborating how it varies among elite ethclass groups. Moreover, it highlights how the growth of African-American museums not only adds color to the museum field, but also fosters bonds among the black middle and upper class.