Why art? Met director provides answer during keynote address.(SPECIAL REPORT)(Philippe de Montebello of Metropolitan Museum of Art)

SANTA FE, NM -- Art fans know that art and art museums are important. But, when pressed, they often find it difficult to articulate why.

Even Philippe de Montebello, the director of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), confesses that he, too, struggles in this endeavor. The temptation is to be like children and say art matters "just because," de Montebello said during a July 15 address at Art Santa Fe, a biennial contemporary art fair. "The truth is never to my full satisfaction."

De Montebello, tall and graceful in an impeccable navy, double-breasted suit, took his audience on a 70-minute odyssey exploring the idea of art, using slides from the …