A confidential report concludes that federal institutions have "seldom lived up to their names" A report compiled by leading US museum directors, which assesses the eight art museums funded and run by the Smithsonian Institution, concludes that they are failing on many levels. It questions the long-term viability of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York because of "the modest size of audience, limited programs and scope of [the] collection". It calls for the "administrative consolidation" of the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The two institutions have overlapping collections and occupy the same recently restored building; the report recommends that one director be placed in charge of both museums. It also warns that leaks in the storage areas of the Freer and Sackler galleries threaten the collection. Leaks are also identified as a problem at the Hirshhorn Museum. The confidential document, a copy of which has been seen by The Art Newspaper, is the result of an 18-month external review of the art museums and two related art programmes run by the Smithsonian Institution which are collectively known as Smithsonian Arts. Ned Rifkin, the Smithsonian's undersecretary for art, appointed a committee to carry out the review in August 2005. This includes Glenn Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Michael Shapiro, director of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta; John Walsh, director emeritus of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; James Wood, director and president emeritus of the Art Institute of Chicago and, since February, president and chief executive of the Getty Trust, Michael Conforti, director of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown; Vishakha Desai, president and chief executive of the Asia Society in New York, and Susana Leval, director emerita of El Museo del Barrio in New York. They met in small groups with Smithsonian museum executives and convened five times to draft the report which was submitted to the Smithsonian's board of regents in January. The 51-page document and its appendices provides an analysis of each Smithsonian art museum, listing strengths and weaknesses and offering recommendations. Its overall finding is that: "The Smithsonian's art collections, taken together, might be expected to be a kind of national encyclopedia of the world's art, like those in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, or Chicago; but in reality they are not. [And] to the extent that their designation as 'national' museums implies qualitative superiority and leadership, they have seldom lived up to their names." The report notes also that "their potential for collaborative ventures of all kinds has scarcely been tapped". The document identifies three major issues: the need to make Smithsonian museums "truly excellent"a goal attainable only through administrative and policy changes, increased funding particularly from the private sector, and a "more cost-effective organisational structure" that would entail "consolidation of some units as well as more shared services". "unrealised potential"attributable to years of "go-it-alone habits" and lack of co-operation between institutions: for example two museums in Washington, DC recently held Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibitions without any joint programming. the report recommends expanding the role of the Smithsonian's undersecretary for art, a position created in 2004 to oversee the Smithsonian's art division. The undersecretary hires directors of the Smithsonian arts organisations and sets their budgets, but the review committee says the undersecretary should also give guidance on policy to the directors, and assist in fundraising. In addition, they feel the office should consolidate the administrations and service functions of closely related museums, and develop "a more rational approach to the distribution of its collections", encouraging the sharing of art through loans and joint acquisitions. The committee further suggests that the undersecretary coordinate the contemporary art activities among the museums to eliminate competition between them. The committee's work is intended by the undersecretary for art to complement internal strategic planning for Smithsonian Arts begun in September 2005. A working draft of the undersecretary's five-year strategic plan for Smithsonian Arts (2006-11) is appended to the report. Many of its bullet points correspond with the recommendations of the external review committee. However, the strategic plan also calls for a major marketing and branding campaign, and increased private fundraising through "naming opportunities". The plan envisions Smithsonian Arts endowments that would be shared by museums for exhibitions, acquisitions, research and other needs. Struggling institutions As well as questioning the long-term viability of the Cooper-Hewitt museum and calling for a merger of the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the report concludes that the National Museum of African Art suffers from a "lack of visionary leadership" as well as a non-contributing board and a lacklustre curatorial team that have not built a collection of national importance and fail to produce significant exhibitions or publications. "Staff and trustee morale is dangerously low," the committee observes. They recommend strengthening the board and directorial leadership and focusing on contemporary art. The committee concludes that the Smithsonian art museums "ought to comprise the most stimulating place in the country to explore the fascinating and complex issues of national history and national identity as manifested by the American visual imagination". However, "the Smithsonian's art museums have reached a critical point. Drastically under funded, they are unable to lead the nation during a time when their creativity and high visibility give them vast potential to affect the lives of our citizens." What the report says Archives of American Art Interim director: Ned Rifkin Strengths: its collections, increasingly available on its website. Weaknesses: lack of funding that has hampered acquisitions and timely processing of material already received; lack of a strategy for collection development; a weak and non-contributing board; and closing of regional offices other than New York has reduced its national presence. Recommendations: preserving the excellence of its special research function; increasing collaboration with the American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery; undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of the collections to determine future directions. Key point: in the case of any administrative reorganisation, the Archives should not be "automatically folded into a consolidated Reynolds Centre", but should remain a separate entity reporting to the undersecretary for art. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Director: Paul Warwick Thompson Strengths: "inventive" exhibitions; recent heightened attention to contemporary design; successful National Design Award; education programme; and the highest proportion of private funding in the museums surveyed. Weaknesses: "severe lack of space"planned renovations will increase public space by 80 but will not provide sufficient space for temporary shows, the permanent collection or storage; the disparate scope of collections; attendance of 143,000 in fiscal year 2005 is low, especially in New York where other museums have large and well-financed design departments. Recommendations: focus on collecting and displaying contemporary design; increase loans and collaboration with museums within the Smithsonian and across the US and abroad; undertake a broad review about the museum's viability. Key point: "We remain concerned about the museum's future viability even with additional space and increased levels of funding, given the modest size of audience, limited programs, and scope of collection." Freer Gallery of Art; Arthur M.Sackler Gallery Director: Julian Raby Strengths: combined holdings constitute one of the world's "most important collections of Asian and Islamic art"; "sound financial footing"; excellent conservators; strong curatorial and education staffs; "supportive, committed" board; high quality exhibitions and permanent collection display; and significant research and publications. Weaknesses: leaks in storage areas threaten the collection; the Sackler's underground building is not optimal for temporary shows and is difficult to access; the Sackler lacks funding to expand its collection and has not fully reached its potential as a complement to the Freer. Recommendations: repair leaks in the building; the Freer should "preserve its scholarly and contemplative nature, while the Sackler engages inAsian and Islamic art and their relationships with the rest of the contemporary world"; make better use of the American art holdings. Key point: "The Sackleris missing opportunities to be more creative. Rather than imitate the Freer in its approach to display, the Sackler should take a more adventurous approach. Hirshhorn Museum Director: Olga Viso Strengths: its relationships with contemporary artists; "a tradition of strong leadership" (undersecretary Rifkin was formerly director); occasionally significant temporary shows; and excellent collections. Weaknesses: the building's unpleasant concrete surface; difficult access; "uninviting" sunken sculpture garden; lack of space for exhibitions and collections management and care; no café or orientation space; lack of funding for exhibitions and acquisitions. Recommendations: sharpen focus on modern and contemporary while balancing permanent collection and loan shows; ensure collecting scope and priorities "reflect the importance of international artistic currents"; repair leaks and increase gallery and collection management space; increase fundraising; improve inadequate gallery security; make joint acquisitions and share collections with other Smithsonian organisations. Key point: "It is critical that the Hirshhorn, given the paucity of its purchase funds, cultivate new collectors." National Museum of African Art Director: Sharon Patton Strengths: excellent library and vast photo and film archive. Weaknesses: underground building limits access and programming space; collection "not yet of national importance"; "haphazard" acquisitions process; no distinguished exhibitions and publications; failure to attract potential audience; inability to raise funds; lack of strategy for collaboration with the Smithsonian's African-American museums. Recommendations: strengthen board, directorial leadership and curatorial staff; become a greater force in scholarship; expand collection and programming to include contemporary art; collaborate with other museums to improve visibility and raise quality of exhibitions and programming to national status. Key point: "There has been a longstanding lack of visionary leadership at the museum. The director's protracted illness, the absence of either a deputy director or chief curator, and curatorial departments that are either understaffed or underperforming, contribute to the present discouraging situation. Staff and trustee morale is dangerously low." Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture The building houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery and the report concludes that a merger of the two is logical because of overlapping collections and affinities of their related missions and audiences. The committee recommends that one director should oversee both museums and that a "national search should be undertaken for an outstanding leader who could fully understand and realize the potential of thisorganization". National Portrait Gallery Director: Marc Pachter (retires 1 October) Strengths: a "panorama of American notables"; engaging with contemporary art through a new biennial portrait competition; and recent expansion of the commissioning board to include building the endowment and fundraising. Weaknesses: works of art are of "mixed artistic quality" because the primary criterion is the historical significance of the subject; board is not capable of major donations. Recommendations: "Improve the artistic quality of its collections"; focus on contemporary portraiture and expand competition to include photography, new and non-traditional media; recruit new patrons that can provide financial support; collaborate and share services with the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Key point: "The Portrait Gallery must improve the artistic quality of its collections. Stronger curatorial leadership is essential for establishing higher standards." American Art Museum Director: Betsy Broun Strengths: research and scholarship through fellowship programme and journal; intention to diversify collections; and topical exhibitions. Weaknesses: erratic later 20th-century and contemporary collection which the committee thought was formed "more by opportunism than by strategy"; inadequate directorial and curatorial leadership. Recommendations: assess the collection and define priorities to strengthen it; explore loans to and from the Hirshhorn, Cooper-Hewitt and non-Smithsonian museums including the National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran; partner with Portrait Gallery; collaborate with Archives of American Art and other organisations in and outside the Smithsonian. Key point: "We see a need for a better-balanced intellectual approach to the presentation of the collections and exhibitions, which have suffered from an undue emphasis on social history, politics, and interpretive rhetoric." Photography Initiative Director: Merry Foresta Strengths: collaborative practices extending across institutions and disciplines; use of new technology on website. Weaknesses: inadequate funding base. Recommendations: explore potential to become permanent organisation with endorsement from the Secretary; identify topics and approaches suitable for interdisciplinary and pan-institutional projects; produce exhibitions for Smithsonian buildings and museums; disseminate work online. Key point: "The initiative could emerge as the emblem and most tangible success of Smithsonian Arts."