The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives

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New York, NY, 10028-0198

212-570-3937

Irvine MacManus records related to "Treasures

of Tutankhamun" exhibition, 1975-1979

Finding aid prepared by Celia Hartmann

Processing of this collection was funded by a

Summary Information .......................................................................................................3

Historical note..................................................................................................................... 4

Scope and Contents note.....................................................................................................5

Arrangement note................................................................................................................6

Administrative Information .............................................................................................. 6

Related Materials ..............................................................................................................6

Controlled Access Headings............................................................................................... 6

Collection Inventory............................................................................................................8

Series I. Planning and Administration..........................................................................8

Title

Irvine MacManus records related to "Treasures of Tutankhamun"

exhibition, 1975-1979

Dates

1975-1979 (bulk 1976-1977)

Extent

2.9 Linear feet (6 full-size document cases, 2 half-size document cases, 1

card box)

Language

Primarily in English; some documents include Arabic translation.

coordinator at the Metropolitan Museum, document the organization,

transportation, installation, attendance, and publicity surrounding the

exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum and its other American venues,

including correspondence, both McManus’s and copies of Director

Thomas Hoving’s; shipping information; condition reports; programs; film

strips; photographs; budgets; press releases; and clippings.

Preferred Citation note

[Title of item], [date], Box [number], Folder [number], Irvine McManus records related

to "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives.

toured six American museums from 1977 to 1979, culminating in a four month

by archaeologist Howard Carter’s team, as well as reprints from the original glass-plate

negatives in the Metropolitan’s collection of the expedition photographer Harry Burton's

black and white photographs that had documented the excavation and its spectacular

discoveries step by step.

Irvine MacManus, previously an education assistant in the Metropolitan's Department

of Community Programs, served as exhibition coordinator from November 1975 until

December 1977. MacManus’s responsibilities focused on planning for the exhibition at

the Metropolitan, including scheduling extra personnel required and answering inquiries;

and facilitating communication among the array of staff members working on the project

at the Metropolitan and the other American venues, as well as sponsors and vendors. An

assistant, Fayez Moharram, was hired to handle the many administrative details. The

effective June 30, 1977, and the next year published Tutankhamun: The Untold Story,

about the boy king, the excavation of his tomb, and the history of its contents and their

whereabouts.

The exhibition was the result of years of negotiations, including plans for a variety of

cross-cultural collaborations, galvanized by President Richard M. Nixon’s June 1974

trip to Egypt and finalized in an accord signed by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger

and Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy in October 1975. In July 1976, director Thomas

Hoving visited Egypt to negotiate terms of the traveling exhibition and finalize details

of the Museum's collaboration with officials there. He remained involved in decision-

making throughout the planning process. Arrangements for the exhibition were made

made possible by a near-doubling of public hours during its run. More than 8 million

visitors in total viewed the show at all the American venues combined. Based on its

record-breaking attendance, international press coverage, and influence on popular

culture, it is considered the prototype "blockbuster" exhibition. Net proceeds from the

sale of exhibition-related printed materials and reproductions benefited renovations of

the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo undertaken by the Egyptian government's

Organization of Antiquities in consultation with the Metropolitan Museum.

The exhibition traveled to The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (November

1976); The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago (April 1977); The New Orleans

Museum of Art (September 1977); The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (February

Hoving, T. Making the Mummies Dance: Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New

York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

Hoving, T., and C. Lilyquist. Director’s Note. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin,

New Series, Vol. 33, No 2 (Summer 1975), pp. 53-55.

Macomber, William B. Report of the President. Annual Report of the Trustees of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art, No. 109 (July 1, 1978 - June 30, 1979), pp. 4-8.

Metropolitan Museum of Art. Treasures of Tutankhamun, 1976.

The Irvine MacManus records related to “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibition

contain the exhibition coordinator’s documentation of the organization, transportation,

III. Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, IV. Publicity and Promotion.

Conditions Governing Access note

Collection is open for research. Photographs and slides should be handled with care, and

may require the use of gloves.

Conditions Governing Use note

Copyright restrictions apply. Consult Archives staff regarding permission to quote or

reproduce.

Related Archival Materials note

• Correspondence

• Photocopies.

• Photographs

• Reports

Subjects - People

• Hoving, Thomas, 1931-2009 -- Correspondence

• Tutankhamen, King of Egypt -- Exhibitions

Collection Inventory