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Robert C. Kaufmann, librarian in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Watson Library and Department of European Sculpture & Decorative Arts, died in hospice care on November 1. 

Bob joined the Metropolitan in 1985, first working in the Costume Institute. Before coming to the Museum, Bob held senior positions at Avery Library, at the Yale Art & Architecture Library, and at the library of the Cooper-Hewitt; he received his MSLS from Columbia.  He was a longtime member of ARLIS and of the Victorian Society in America.  He will be remembered for his deep knowledge, which he wore lightly, of nineteenth-century decorative arts; for his passions for opera, good food, and friendship; and especially for his unfailing kindness, spirit, and generosity.  Bob had battled cancer for many years; till the end he modeled indefatigable grace and good humor in the face of trouble and pain.  When he moved to Calvary Hospital, where he acknowledged that "I'm here to expire," he noted that that process was slowed down because he had "a strong heart." These remarks were vintage Kaufmann. Bob's frankness about life's (and his own) ills and failings were always tempered by his bigness of heart and appreciation of life's simple pleasures -- all qualities that endeared him to his many colleagues and to the extraordinary array of people that he met throughout his life and with whom he managed to keep in touch.   Condolences may be sent to Bob’s sister, Catherine Tatum, at 6921 South Jamestown, Tulsa OK   74136.  A memorial service in New York is being planned for a later date.

Ken Soehner