On August 13, 2024 I had my first chance to visit this august institution. Something happened then that in my lifetime of working in and visiting art museums all around the world has fortunately never happened. An alarm went off and the guards ushered all of the visitors down the staircases and out the door, all the while telling us not to panic.

The 100 or so of us visitors gathered in the shade of trees on the large lawn in front of the museum. It was a very hot day in Munich.

Soon firetrucks arrived and these brave men entered the building and apparently swept it, finding no real reason for the alarm, I guess, for within 15 minutes, they let us all enter the building again and continue our enjoyment of the collections.

This was a first and it made me realize how lucky we are in general to take safety for granted when visiting an art museum, no matter where in the world it is. I hope it remains that way.

As an aside, there is no country other than mine, the US or Germany, that I would hope to be in in such a situation. The museum personnel and firemen handled this situation with aplomb.