Pontus Hultén—Commander of Modern art

The first biography of the legendary curator and museum director Pontus Hultén. Verlag der Büchandlung Walther und Franz König, Köln/CCS Bard New York, 2025

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Over his 50-year career, Pontus Hultén (1924–2006) pioneered the art world as founding director of institutions such as Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Centre Pompidou in Paris, MOCA in Los Angeles , Palazzo Grassi in Venice and three other institutions in six countries. My biography relates Hultén’s highly entertaining, adventurous and dramatic career in conjunction with the story of modern art across the 20th century. The book is built in part on more than 200 interviews conducted in 11 countries. Translated by myself from the award-winning Swedish original Pontus Hultén — den moderna konstens anförare (Albert Bonniers Förlag, 2022), the biography was co-published in 2025 by Verlag der Büchandlung Walther und Franz König, Köln, and CCS Bard, New York.

The Swedish edition of the book was awarded with an August Award nomination (2022), The Royal Swedish Academy’s Axel Hirsch’s Prize for best biography/life narrative (2022-2023), and the Swedish Book Art Award (2023).

“Pontus was the first curator. Today everyone is a curator.”

–Germano Celant

“Claes Britton’s brilliant biography proves conclusively that Pontus Hultén is Pontus Hultén and everything else is everything else.”

–Hans Ulrich Obrist

“This book has been one of my strongest reading experiences in a long time. It has been with me day and night (often sleepless) and I have looked forward to the the next chapter equalling that of Dickens’ readers awaiting the next episode in the series.”

–Per Wästberg, eldest laureate of the Royal Swedish Academy

“Pontus Hultén was the modern art museums’ greatest visionary. During the second half of the 20^th century, he transformed the museum into an experimental power center where new contemporary artistic expressions came to involve an ever increasing audience. In this grand biography, Claes Britton portrays him in full figure. It’s a groundbreaking work that for the first time gives us the true picture of Hultén’s international influence.”

–Daniel Birnbaum

“Claes Britton’s rich biography builds on a monumental research work, with hundreds of interviews, countless archive hours and an almost ten-year writing process, and is driven forward by a straight, journalistic tone. It is in every way a pioneering work (…) an equally impressive and well written monument over the Titan Hultén.”

–Bo Madestrand, Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s leading daily

“A lot can be said about Pontus Hultén. And this book does. Brilliantly! But first and foremost it makes it absolutely clear that he, without any doubt, was the curator/director who in the post-war era most radically changed the idea of what an art museum could — and perhaps should — be. For the benefit of the artis. And the public.”

–Lars Nittve

“Curator legend Pontus Hultén was a non-conformist and artists’ friend He almost single-handedly made contemporary art more accessible to a larger audience, with a huge impact on today’s scene. Claes Britton now has written the biography he deserves: a tour de force through his curatorial assignments and relationships with the art people of his time. Elucidating, full of informative details and stories, and brilliantly written. If you wonder why contemporary art is at it is, you must read this book.

–Carsten Höller, artist

“Monumental, in every sense of the word—Pontus Hulten, Commander of Modern Art - Claes Britton, 2025—700 densely written and meticulously detailed pages shed light on the life of an extraordinary figure who made it his personal mission to create iconic venues for contemporary art, from the Moderna Museet to the Centre Pompidou— an extraordinary investigation, like a personal challenge, and a fascinating dive into 50 years of a life dedicated to artists and museums, 50 years of an incredible era—and a reminder of his major role in Duchamp’s unavoidable place in France—a perfect echo of Sophie Duplaix’s excellent exhibition at the Grand Palais, where Hulten is omnipresent, a loyal friend and companion of Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint-Phalle—most recommended reading.”

–Olivier Gabet, curator, museum intendent, The Louvre

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