Museum News - Brief Article

Art in America, April, 1999 by Stephanie Cash, David Ebony

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts is the first U.S. museum to open a satellite institution in Asia. On Apr. 17, the Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts opens in downtown Nagoya in a building designed by architect Yoshinobu Sato. Operated by the Foundation of the Arts, Nagoya, and directed by Tadao Ogura, the 50,000-square-foot museum will present shows culled from the collections of the BMFA, which boasts the largest holdings of Japanese art outside Japan. Inaugural exhibitions include "Monet, Renoir and the Impressionist Landscape" and "Art of the Ancient Mediterranean World." A series of shows of Japanese art will begin in the fall.

The Metropolitan Museum reopens its new Greek Galleries on Apr. 20, after an extensive, three-year renovation and reinstallation project. The seven galleries, newly refurbished by Met designers Jeffrey L. Daly and Dennis Kois, feature works from the archaic through the Classical periods.

The Baltimore Museum of Art is set to begin its one-year renovation of the wing that houses the Cone Collection of top-notch PostImpressionist and modern works, including 500 pieces by Matisse. Visitors have until Apr. 16 to view 40 paintings by Matisse, which are being exhibited in their original frames. Reflecting the taste of the collectors, the elaborate frames were not appreciated by recent museum curators who replaced them with modern strip frames in 1986. During the period of renovation, selections from the collection will be on display elsewhere in the museum, while other pieces will travel. Some 50 Matisse works are scheduled to appear at the Denver Museum of Art, Mar. 11-June 11, 2000.

The Art Institute of Chicago's department of European paintings has received a $2.5-million gift from David and Mary Winton Green. The funds will be used to establish a senior curatorial position in 19th-century French paintings, to be filled by current associate curator Gloria Groom. Part of the endowment income will fund the department's research projects and special exhibitions.

The Yale University Art Gallery has announced a bequest of more than $8 million from the estate of designer and artist Simon Braguin, who died in November 1997, at the age of 90. The bequest is unusual since Braguin had no previous connection to Yale. However, after moving to the area 30 years ago he befriended the curators of the American and contemporary art departments. The funds are earmarked for acquisitions of works by living artists.

The Guggenheim Museum in SoHo has temporarily closed its doors for renovations. Plans are to reopen later this spring with an as-yet-undisclosed exhibition. On the ground floor, 7,000 square feet have been set aside for use by an unnamed retail business, while the museum gift shop and bookstore have already relocated to smaller quarters elsewhere on ground level.