6/20/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON, CELEBRATES OPENING OF STATE STREET CORPORATION FENWAY ENTRANCE
MFA Director Malcolm Rogers Welcomes Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and State Street Corporation’s Jay Hooley to Museum Festivities
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BOSTON, MA (June 20, 2008)—This morning at 10 a.m., the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), will open its State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum, who will welcome Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino; Jay Hooley, President and Chief Operating Officer, State Street Corporation; MFA Trustees and staff; and special guests. The opening is made possible by the generosity of State Street Corporation, which gave a gift of $10 million to the MFA in September 2007—the largest corporate donation in the Museum’s history. The MFA’s façade to the north, which overlooks the Back Bay Fens and features an expansive row of grand Ionic columns, has been closed for nearly three decades. The opening of the State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance is part of the Museum’s Building Project, designed by architects Foster + Partners (London). By reopening the historic entrance, the MFA will enhance its connection to the Fenway and Longwood neighborhoods, and enliven its relationship with the Back Bay Fens, renewing the appeal of one of the great urban parks in the country—Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace. In celebration of the opening, the Museum will host a free Community Day on Sunday, June 22, presented by State Street Corporation.
“The opening of the State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance gives us the wonderful opportunity to welcome in our neighbors from the surrounding communities through the historic doors of the Evans Wing,” said Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “This is a momentous occasion for the MFA and Boston, and we deeply appreciate State Street Corporation’s commitment to furthering our vision for a world-class art museum in Boston.”
Today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony will be accented by trumpet fanfare provided by a musician from the Boston Conservatory. In addition to Rogers, Mayor Menino, and Hooley, featured speakers include: Stokley Towles, Chairman of the MFA Board of Trustees; Roger Servison, President of the MFA Board of Trustees; Sylvia Simmons, Chair of the MFA Trustee/Overseer Diversity Advisory Committee; and Spencer de Grey, Senior Executive, Head of Design of Foster + Partners. Other guests include representatives from neighboring Fenway and Longwood institutions. Additionally, Malcolm Rogers will invite members of the MFA’s Teen Arts Council (TAC) to be the first to enter the newly opened doors. (The TAC serves as an apprenticeship program for a diverse group of teenagers whose goal is to connect the MFA with Greater Boston’s teens, families, and communities.)
“The Museum of Fine Arts is integral to the cultural fabric and economic vitality of this great city,” said Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston. “With the opening of the Museum’s historic entrance along the Fenway, the MFA will revitalize the area—new sidewalks, lighting, and landscaping will encourage visitors to the Museum to take advantage of the surrounding neighborhood.”
The Museum’s Building Project is supported by the $500 million Building the New MFA campaign, which is nearing completion. In honor of State Street Corporation’s $10 million gift, the MFA is renaming its Fenway entrance the “State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance,” reaffirming the financial institution’s 40-year partnership with the Museum.
“At State Street, we are dedicated to preserving Boston’s rich history while advancing its future,” said Jay Hooley, President and Chief Operating Officer of State Street Corporation. “We are proud of our long-standing partnership with the MFA and are excited to be a part of this new chapter in the Museum’s commitment to Boston. We are also proud to present a Community Day this Sunday enabling visitors to access the Museum and its new entrance at no charge.”
State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance
The State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance is a dramatic, columned portico on the north side of the MFA, one of two original grand entrances (the other faces Huntington Avenue) envisaged by architect Guy Lowell in his 1907 master plan for the Museum. Its doors open to the MFA’s Robert Dawson Evans Wing, given by Maria Antoinette Evans in memory of her husband. This entrance reinforces the original north-south axis designed by Lowell for the main Museum building, which opened in 1909, and the subsequent Evans Wing addition, which opened in 1915. Recent renovations to the entrance include widening the grand staircase and adding ramps on either side, using Deer Isle granite that matches the color and texture of the existing façade, which is from the site where the granite was quarried for the original building.
Complementing the landscaping is Day and Night (completed in 2008), a pair of monumental bronze baby head sculptures—one with eyes open and one with eyes closed—created by renowned Spanish contemporary artist Antonio López García. These newly acquired sculptures, each approximately 8 feet tall and 1.6 tons in weight, represent a Museum purchase with funds donated by Gail and Ernst von Metzsch. (The two sculptures were recently relocated from the Huntington Avenue entrance.)
Dramatic lighting has been added to the portico, illuminating its 22 Ionic columns, which measure 36 feet tall. Two contemporary reflecting pools (11’ x 33’) have been created on either side of the stairway, containing underwater lighting and streaming fountains. Funds for these fountains were provided by MFA Benefactors Bette Arnold and Robert Charles in memory of Arnold’s daughter, Joyce (Jackie) Arnold Rusoff. Granite walkways and new sidewalks have been added, well-lit by 18 acorn-style street lamps.
Sharf Visitor Center
Upon entering the lobby area of the Evans Wing, visitors will arrive at a new ticket desk. They will then proceed through the Museum’s Hemicycle to the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Visitor Center, a nearly 5,000-square-foot space that joins the Evans Wing to the original Museum building. The Sharf Visitor Center will serve as the MFA’s information hub—a 40-foot desk will be staffed by Visitor Services volunteers who will assist with questions and wayfinding. An animated video display on seven flat-panel screens listing the day’s events, on-going exhibitions, lectures, tours, and other educational opportunities, will be located behind the desk. Cantilevered off the end of the desk will be four public computer terminals where visitors can explore the Museum’s website—mfa.org—and search its on-line collection of art, as well as access information about other area attractions. Travel and transportation sites will be available, such as Massport and Google maps, as will news sites such as boston.com and nytimes.com. A variety of informational materials also will be available in the Sharf Visitor Center, including MFA maps in English and seven foreign languages—Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, and Russian—and brochures about MFA lectures, courses, and films. In addition, a video highlighting the MFA’s current Building Project will be on view.
Furnishings in the Sharf Visitor Center will include a suite of classic mid-century furniture from the Florence Knoll lounge collection (four benches and two sofas, all in charcoal grey leather, and two marble-topped, low chrome tables). The flooring will be Kuru grey granite. Rotations of artwork, beginning with contemporary artist Jim Dine’s painted bronze sculpture Trembling for Color (Venus) (1990), a gift of Charlotte and Irving W. Rabb, and eight varying prints of Nine Views of Winter (1985), will be featured. The copper Weathervane Goddess of Liberty (1860–80), possibly by American artist William G. Henis and donated by Mr. and Mrs. Sharf, will serve as a landmark where tours can meet. The room’s west-facing windows overlook the Norma Jean Calderwood Courtyard. The Sharf Visitor Center will eventually open to the east into the soaring, glass-enclosed Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard, currently under construction and scheduled for completion in late 2010 along with the new American Wing and newly relocated Ann and Graham Gund Gallery, which will be one level below both the Sharf Visitor Center and the Shapiro Family Courtyard.
Community Day
Neighbors and friends of the MFA can join in the opening festivities during Community Day, presented by State Street Corporation, on Sunday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., when free admission to all exhibitions, galleries, and activities will be offered. Highlights will include three special installations: Winslow Homer: American Scenes, showcasing 70 works by this beloved American master from the MFA’s collection; Preserving History, Making History: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, an exploration of the MFA’s history from its founding in 1870; and Great Company: Portraits by European Masters, a selection of renowned portraiture from the Museum’s collection. (Please see three installation press releases for more information.) Community Day also features free entry to the Gund Gallery exhibition of works by Spain’s 17th-century masters, El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III; the highly acclaimed show of works by Spanish contemporary artist Antonio López García; and the Museum’s tip of the cap to its Fenway Park neighbors, Rockwell and the Shinjin: Celebrating Baseball and the Red Sox, featuring Norman Rockwell’s painting, The Rookie (The Red Sox Locker Room) (1957, Private Collection). Other free activities include: gallery talks, guided and self-guided tours, art-making activities for children with accompanying adults, as well as demonstrations and films. Several activities are available with ASL interpretation. (Please see accompanying Community Day fact sheet for more information.)
The opening of the State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance marks the first construction milestone of the MFA’s Building Project, which will transform the Museum with the addition of a 50,000-square-foot American Wing, the creation of the glass-enclosed Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard, and the expansion of space for contemporary art. Also featured is a new Ann and Graham Gund Gallery for rotating exhibitions; the addition of educational facilities, visitor amenities, and conservation labs; and the renovation of existing galleries. The Building Project will increase space for the MFA’s encyclopedic collection, as well as dramatically enrich the ways in which visitors navigate the Museum’s galleries and encounter its great works of art. It is expected to be completed in late 2010.
Digital Images
Images are available at www.mfa.org in the Press Room, as well as upon request. Please call or email Kelly Gifford at 617.369.3540 or kgifford@mfa.org, or Amelia Carignan at 617.369.3447 or acarignan@mfa.org.
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading provider of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $15 trillion in assets under custody and $2 trillion in assets under management at March 31, 2008, State Street operates in 26 countries and more than 100 geographic markets worldwide. For more information, visit State Street’s web site at www.statestreet.com.
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 1909, the MFA moved to its present Beaux-Arts-designed granite structure on Huntington Avenue. Throughout the century, the Museum continued to expand with additions, such 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. Foster + Partners, the Museum’s Design Architect, is working with Boston-based design firm, CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc., the local Architect of Record. John Moriarty & Associates is the General Contractor.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 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. Open seven days a week, the MFA’s hours are Saturday through Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 9:45 p.m. The Museum is closed on New Year’s Day, Patriots’ Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. For general visitor information, visit the MFA website at www.mfa.org or call 617.267.9300.
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