Works of art are of an infinite solitude, and no means of approach is so useless as criticism. Only love can touch and hold them and be fair to them.” (R.M. Rilke, third letter to a young poet) When art maecenas Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock in his last will donated his mansion to the city of Beirut before he died in 1952, he did not just sign over a deed. He formulated a hope for his home country and city: “I wish there would exist in Beirut, capital of the Republic of Lebanon, museums and exhibition rooms open to everyone, where masterpieces and antiques would be preserved and displayed.” To achieve this, Sursock apparently wanted an authority figure to exert custody over his treasure and appointed the mayor of Beirut as guardian of the Sursock Museum. The donor’s gift came moreover wrapped in another wish, that Sursock’s “fellow citizens would appreciate
