On Sunday, November 18, the Baltimore Museum of Art will unveil a major renovation to the contemporary wing that was built in 1994. The space has been under construction since January 2011 and is part of a $24.5 million overhaul that included a new roof, lighting, gallery paint and flooring as well as other structural changes to the Contemporary Galleries. The overarching goal was to modernize the wing, making the entire viewing experience more inviting and fulfilling for patrons.
John Russell Pope, the architect that created the Jefferson Memorial, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Archives, built the Baltimore Museum’s main building in the 1920s. While the Pope building is a structural masterpiece, the Contemporary wing has been regarded as an eyesore for years. Architect Michael Craft oversaw the recent renovation and has done as much as possible to ease the transition from the Pope building into the Contemporary wing.
The Baltimore Museum of Art’s Contemporary collection includes more than 100 objects including paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and moving image works. At the wing’s unveiling, works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Olafur Eliasson will be on view.
