An Art Spectacular. Panopticon, which means a place where everything is visible, will feature more than 500 works from the permanent collection, including a large group from the museum's important collection of chairs, as well as sculpture and works on paper. The artworks will be grouped by chronology and nationality, with a special emphasis on Pittsburgh artists.
Renovations at Carnegie Museum of Art's Sarah Scaife Galleries
to begin in late June
On June 24, 2002, renovations will begin in Carnegie Museum of Art's Sarah
Scaife Galleries, which house paintings, sculpture, and decorative art
objects from the museum's permanent collection. Improvements to the
27-year-old galleries are projected to take approximately one year. While
construction takes place in the Scaife Galleries, many works from the
permanent collection will be on view in
"Panopticon: An Art Spectacular"
a unique exhibition in the museum's Heinz Galleries, September 28, 2002 - August 17, 2003.
Richard Armstrong, Henry J. Heinz II director of Carnegie Museum of Art,
says the gallery improvements are necessary to continue the museum's
commitment to preserve its world-class collection for the future enjoyment
of the region's residents and art lovers around the world. "Our
incomparable galleries need preventive maintenance, and the 2002-03 time
frame is the most opportune moment to undertake this project," Armstrong
said.
Some gallery renovations, such as replacing skylights and adding new climate
control systems will permit stricter control of environmental conditions in
order to meet current conservation standards. Other slated improvements
include installing a new security system and infrastructure that supports
wireless digital technology. Upgrading the Scaife Galleries is part of a
continuing strategy that began in 1999 with improvements to the Heinz
Galleries, which are used for changing exhibitions, and expansion and
renovation of The Heinz Architectural Center in 2000.
Panopticon, which means a place where everything is visible, will feature
more than 500 works from the permanent collection, including a large group
from the museum's important collection of chairs, as well as sculpture and
works on paper. The artworks will be grouped by chronology and nationality,
with a special emphasis on Pittsburgh artists.
According to Sarah Nichols, the museum's chief curator and curator of
decorative arts, "Panopticon will present the collection in a wonderfully
dramatic 'salon-style' hanging-where paintings will be floor to ceiling,
above, below, and beside each other, reminiscent of 18th-century palace or
academy hangs."
During the Scaife renovations, some objects from the collection will be
installed at The Andy Warhol Museum. These works-from the 1940s and
1950s-will be on view to show the artistic context of Warhol's formative
years. Also during construction, a number of works from the permanent
collection that were created between 1975 and 2000 will be in an exhibition
organized by the American Federation of Arts. This exhibition will travel
to four North American venues between January 2003 and April 2004.
Other changing exhibition spaces in the museum, including the Forum Gallery,
Hall of Sculpture Balcony, Treasure Room, and the Heinz Architectural
Center, as well as spaces which house objects from the permanent collection,
such as the Hall of Sculpture and the Hall of Architecture, will remain open
and unaffected during construction. The Scaife Gallery, with a reinstalled
permanent collection, is scheduled to re-open in the fall of 2003.
Designed by New York architect Edward Larrabee Barnes and opened in 1974,
the Sarah Scaife Galleries provided an additional 153,000 square feet to the
existing building and a greatly improved capacity for the museum to show its
extensive collection. The Sarah Scaife Galleries were a gift of the Sarah
Mellon Scaife Foundation and the Scaife Family.
Carnegie Museum of Art
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh and
founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895,
Carnegie Museum of Art is nationally and internationally recognized for its
distinguished collection of American and European works from the sixteenth
century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie
Museum of Art, is dedicated to the collection, study, and exhibition of
architectural drawings and models.
For more information about Carnegie
Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit our web site.
The Heinz Architectural Center
Carnegie Museum
4400 Forbes Avenue, PA 15213-4080
Pittsburgh