4/23/09
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON, REOPENS HUNTINGTON AVENUE ENTRANCE ON THE AVENUE OF THE ARTS
MFA Director Malcolm Rogers Welcomes Mayor Thomas Menino to Ceremony and Announces Monthly Free Community Days through December
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BOSTON, MA (April 23, 2009)—A century after the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), first opened the grand entrance to its majestic building on Huntington Avenue—renamed the Avenue of the Arts in 1998—the Museum will once again open these doors to the public during a special ceremony today from 10–11 a.m. The entrance, which has been closed for renovations since June (2008), now features a handsome, doubled-in-size Deer Isle granite plaza and new landscaping. Renovations have made the entrance fully accessible, and amenities have been added to enhance the visitor experience. The redesign complements the classic Beaux Arts façade originally conceived by architect Guy Lowell for the Museum, which opened November 9, 1909. The reopening of the entrance marks an important milestone in the MFA’s history and in its visionary Building Project designed by Foster + Partners (London).
At today’s event, Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA, will welcome the Honorable Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of the City of Boston, along with State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz of the Second Suffolk District, and other distinguished guests. Rogers also will announce a new community initiative, titled 9 in ’09, which offers free admission to the Museum once per month (nine days) through 2009 (these are in addition to the Museum’s regular weekly free admission program, Wednesday Nights at the MFA, underwritten by the Citizens Bank Foundation).
The ceremony today will take place at the entrance, with remarks beginning at 10:15 a.m., followed by a tree planting and garland cutting (instead of a ribbon cutting) inspired by the Museum’s annual festival of flowers, Art in Bloom, presented by the MFA Associates April 25–27 and co-sponsored by Staples, Inc. Additionally, as part of the Cogan Family Foundation Vacation Week Adventures at the MFA (April 21–24), families are invited to attend the festivities, where children can participate in a paper flower-making project and help MFA Director Rogers plant a cherry tree.
“The redesign of our entrance on the Avenue of the Arts creates for our neighbors and all Museum visitors a more welcoming environment that preserves the grandeur of the building’s classic design while offering a modern space for friends to meet before beginning their visit,” said Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA. “Since joining the Museum in 1994, my mission has been to make the MFA more accessible to all who want to enjoy the treasures of world art that lie beyond this grand entrance. The Museum’s free community days help to make this possible.”
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was founded in 1870, and the original building at Copley Square opened on July 4, 1876. To accommodate its growing collection, the MFA moved to its current location at 465 Huntington Avenue, where it opened on November 9, 1909. Throughout the century, visitors from around the world have come to view the Museum’s encyclopedic collection of nearly 450,000 works of art. The Huntington Avenue entrance to the MFA was closed in July 1990 for economic reasons, then was reopened by Rogers in April 1995, shortly after his appointment as Museum Director, as a symbol of the MFA’s commitment to surrounding communities. During a ceremony in 1998, Huntington Avenue was dedicated as the “Avenue of the Arts” by Mayor Menino and Rogers.
The opening of the entrance restores the Museum’s central spine as originally conceived by Guy Lowell as part of his 1909 master plan. This extends north from the entrance on the Avenue of the Arts to the State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance (which opened in June 2008) overlooking the Back Bay Fens. The renovation of the entrance is one of many elements in the Museum’s multi-faceted Building Project, expected to be complete in late 2010. The changes to this entrance enable it to be fully accessible, increase its visitor amenities, and make it more beautiful and inviting with an enlarged plaza, new lighting, and landscaping. The entrance includes ramps on either side of the stairs leading to the doors, automated doors, graded floors, and wide entryways leading to the foyer. A grant from Bank of America supported these design elements as well as the Museum’s ongoing Access Programming, a series of services and offerings that engage participants of all ages and abilities in the life of the Museum.
The Museum’s enlarged semi-circular driveway is paved with Deer Isle granite from the same quarry in Maine as the granite used for the Museum’s original façade. The plaza in front of the entry, now doubled in size and also made of Deer Isle granite, is enhanced by new lighting. Continuing in its place of prominence overlooking the Avenue of the Arts is Cyrus Dallin’s bronze sculpture, Appeal to the Great Spirit (1909). On either side of the entrance, two long granite benches, lit from below, provide seating, and behind them are two newly planted Kwanzan cherry trees, approximately 20 feet tall, as well as more than 150 yew bushes that have been placed along the Museum’s grassy areas surrounding the entrance. New granite steps and lighted brass handrails lead up to the front doors, which are flanked by plinths that have been raised. Upon each rests a monumental brass urn featuring a spring planting of pussy willows, daffodils, peonies, and ivy provided by the MFA Associates, the Museum’s volunteer group. In addition, the building’s three original carved oak and bronze doorways have been refinished, as has the surrounding façade.
Inside, the MFA’s elegant foyer has been reconceived as a sculpture court. Placed at the center is Orpheus and Cerberus (1843) by Thomas Crawford, a commanding statue measuring more than six feet above its three-foot stone pediment. Crafted of Seravezza marble, the sculpture was installed at the entrance of the first Museum building at Copley Square in 1876. Now, 133 years later, it once again graces the Museum’s foyer. Joining Orpheus and Cerberus are two other notable sculptures: on the left is Young Columbus (1871), created in marble by Giulio Monteverde, and on the right is Bacchante and Infant Faun (cast in 1909), a bronze by Frederick MacMonnies. Two additional sculptures are included in the foyer, both by Hiram Powers: Bust of Eve Disconsolate (about 1871–72) and Faith (about 1872). Renovations to the foyer include new lighting, refinished limestone walls and columns, and new Tennessee marble floors inclined for accessibility.
To the right of the sculpture court is a new ticketing area, where the painting Gould’s Hill (1972) by Neil Welliver is on view. The spacious room features a five-terminal ticket desk over which flat-panel LCD screens offer information about admission, exhibitions, Museum hours, and tickets. Self-ticketing kiosks, an ATM, and coat check are among the nearby visitor amenities.
Adjacent to the ticketing area are six Contemporary paintings: Nanny and Rose (1983) by Scott Prior, Linda Nochlin and Daisy (1973) by Alice Neel, Portrait of Nancy Porter Straus (1973) by Fairfield Porter, Ada Looking Over Shoulder (1964) by Alex Katz, Susie (1988) by Lucien Freud, and Birdie and Joseph (1955) by Larry River, as well as a benefactors’ plaque listing the names of major donors to the Museum. A corridor leads to the grand entrance staircase with views of the magnificent John Singer Sargent murals (1921–1925) up above. Flanking the stairway are 10 Chinese ceramic, porcelain, and imperial metalwork pieces from the Ming and Qing dynasties (16th-19th centuries) and at the top of the stairs are two cast brass Chinese figures, one of a Daoist and the other a Confucian, both 16th–17th century.
In addition to celebrating the reopening of the entrance, today’s ceremony also kicks off the MFA’s community initiative, called 9 in ’09, which provides free Museum admission once per month—nine times—for the rest of 2009. Many of these community days are sponsored by major corporations and foundations in the Boston area. They are as follows:
• Art in Bloom, Monday, April 27: Open House (5–9 p.m.), presented by the MFA Associates and co-sponsored by Staples, Inc.
• Memorial Day, Monday, May 25: Open House, generously supported by MFA Associates/MFA Senior Associates, with free admission to Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice made possible by the support of The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
• Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21
• Sunday, July 19
• Friday, August 28: Made possible with support from the Highland Street Foundation
• Sunday, September 20
• Columbus Day, Monday, October 12: Open House, made possible in part by a grant from the Boston Foundation
• Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11: Made possible through support from Bank of America, with admission to The Secrets of Tomb 10A: Egypt 2000 BC
• New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31
In addition to these days, no general admission fee is required (after 4 p.m.) during Wednesday Nights at the MFA, underwritten by the Citizens Bank Foundation, although voluntary donations are welcome. The first free day in 2010 is the MFA’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Open House underwritten by the Citizens Bank Foundation and planned for January 18, 2010.
Today’s ceremony also launches the MFA’s annual Art in Bloom festival of flowers (April 25–27), and marks the debut of three new Museum galleries: Italian Renaissance, 20th-Century Art, and the Sargent Rotunda. (Please see accompanying press releases for more information on 9 in ’09, Art in Bloom, and the three new galleries.) The reopening of the entrance represents one of many MFA initiatives to enhance its landmark building on the Avenue of the Arts and is a key component of the Museum’s Building Project, designed to enrich the ways in which visitors encounter the MFA’s great works of art, improve navigation through its galleries, as well as increase space for its encyclopedic collection, educational programs, and special exhibitions. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Foster + Partners (London), the MFA’s Building Project restores Lowell’s vision for the Museum and introduces major 21st-century elements: an American Wing and the soaring glass Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard, which together encompass more than 150,000 square feet; the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Visitor Center (which opened in June 2008); the Ann and Graham Gund Gallery for rotating exhibitions; the Barbara and Theodore Alfond Auditorium; and new galleries and educational spaces.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/IMAGES
For additional information about the opening of the entrance on the Avenue of the Arts and the MFA’s three new galleries, or for digital images, please contact Kelly Gifford at 617.369.3540 or kgifford@mfa.org.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), opened the doors of its red brick and terra-cotta building in Copley Square on July 4, 1876. Over time, the rapid growth of the collection made a new location necessary and the Museum hired architect Guy Lowell to develop a master plan for a grand, classical museum. In November 1909, the MFA opened the doors to its present Beaux Arts-designed granite structure on Huntington Avenue. Throughout the century, the Museum continued to expand with such major additions as its Evans Wing (designed by Lowell) in 1915, and its West Wing (designed by I.M. Pei) in 1981. In 1999, the MFA commissioned the architectural firm, Foster + Partners (London), to develop a master site plan that would reflect the strong north/south axis of Lowell’s original design while addressing the MFA’s growing collection as well as the visitor experience.
The Museum’s Building Project will enrich the ways in which visitors encounter the Museum’s great works of art, improve navigation through its galleries, as well as enhance and increase space for the MFA’s encyclopedic collection, educational programs, conservation facilities, and special exhibitions. The $504 million in funds raised by the Building the New MFA campaign, completed in 2008, support substantial building and renovation enhancements to the Museum, strengthen the endowment for programs and positions in perpetuity, and provide for critical annual operations. The Building Project is scheduled to be completed in late 2010.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, welcomes nearly one million visitors each year. The MFA is recognized for the quality and scope of its encyclopedic collection, which includes an estimated 450,000 objects. The Museum’s collection is made up of: Art of the Americas; Art of Europe; Contemporary Art; Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Art of the Ancient World; Prints, Drawings, and Photographs; Textile and Fashion Arts; and Musical Instruments.
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