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All the Beauty in the World

A Museum Guard’s Adventures in Life, Loss and Art

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All the Beauty in the World

By: Patrick Bringley
Narrated by: Patrick Bringley
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase into New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny.

They're the guards in dark blue suits, keeping careful watch over this vast treasure house. Caught up in the early days of a glamorous journalism career, Patrick Bringley never thought he'd be one of them. Then his brother was diagnosed with fatal cancer and he needed to escape the mundane clamour of daily life. So he quit, and sought solace in the most beautiful place he knew.

To his surprise, this temporary refuge becomes his home away from home for a decade. We follow him as he guards delicate treasures from Egypt to Rome, strolls the labyrinths beneath the galleries, and discovers how restorative art can be.

Bringley enters the museum as a ghost, silent and almost invisible, but soon finds his voice and place amongst the lively subculture of museum guards. As his bonds with colleagues and the artwork grow, he learns how fortunate he is to be walled off in this little world and how much it resembles the best aspects of the larger world to which he gradually, gratefully returns.

All the Beauty in the World is a moving, revelatory portrait of one of the world's great museums and its treasures by someone whose value is often overlooked: the museum guard.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Patrick Bringley (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Art Cultural & Regional Library & Museum Studies Social Sciences
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A reminder you how art can bring us together from the unique perspective of a museum guard.

A beautiful and quiet meditation on art

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A work of integrity and sensibility. Patrick talks about art with unaffected intelligence. The sense of slow and expansive time was a rare and particular pleasure. The illustrations are exquisite and charming.

Poignant and wonderful.

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Patrick Bringley wanted a job where he could stand still and think after the death of his brother. So he took a job at the Metropolitan Museum in New York as a room guard. He had a lot of time to study the art and he takes us on his own tours round the museum, interposed with his own personal journey. He recounts stories from the standpoint of a museum guard and introduces us, not only to his fellow workers, but to the different rooms and his own favourite artefacts.He writes gently and eloquently and knowledgeably and informatively. A beautiful meditation.

Enlightening and Meditive

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Absolutely stunning! This is one of the best books I have ever read. A beautiful story expressed with integrity and poetry, exploring great truths with honest simplicity. At first you may think it exists as a set of individual observations but Bringley weaves them together to make an extraordinary whole. Wish I could find better words to describe how wonderful this book is! Read it!

Profoundly beautiful, insightful and inspiring

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The most beautiful reading of a truly special text, which sheds new light on life, art and the relationship between the two. Can’t recommend enough.

A moving, beautiful, philosophical listen

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