Colby College: Campaign Final Report: The Arts

THE ARTS
One of the strengths of liberal arts education and the Colby experience is that students have an opportunity to conceptualize and mount artistic projects as another way of learning about themselves and their world. Through the generosity of its friends, the Colby Museum of Art, founded in 1959, has grown dramatically to become the most important art collection in Maine north of the Portland region and an important cultural resource for the state.
The museum offers students the opportunity to study representative works directly rather than working from slides. In addition, it gives Colby students graduate-level-type experience; working directly with professors and the museum staff, students learn to document gifts of art and to research, curate, and mount exhibitions, right down to filling out the necessary forms, traveling to other museums, talking with trustees, and producing a catalogue.

The Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Art of Alex Katz

     Alex Katz, a summer resident of Maine since the 1950s, donated more than 400 of his works to the Colby College Museum of Art in 1992 with the understanding that a wing would be built to house them. On October 11, 1996, the Colby College Museum of Art formally opened the Paul J. Schupf Wing for the art of Alex Katz, making the museum one of the few in the country with a wing devoted solely to the work of a living artist.
     The construction of the wing was made possible by a generous naming gift from Colby Trustee Paul J. Schupf H '91. It adds 10,000 square feet to the museum and consists of two 70' x 36' galleries, two 36' x 36' galleries, a vestibule connecting the gallery to the existing Jetté Galleries, and a storage area for work not on view.
     "I wanted to see my paintings in the perfect situation. Colby provided the place. Scott Teas [of TFH Architects] did a terrific job. He produced a physical space with a rough elegance and simple materials--glass, steel, cement, and wood. Everything is itself and the spaces are perfect for my paintings," said Alex Katz.
     "My gift was inspired by three people I have tremendous regard for. It's about Alex Katz, whom I've known and admired since 1973 and whose works I collect. It's about Hugh Gourley, whose abilities as an art museum director I have the highest regard for. And it's about Bill Cotter, who has been tremendously involved and very determined that this project was going to happen. . . . I can't think of another place I've been involved with where you have the same intense enthusiasm and dedication," said Paul J. Schupf H '91.

Lunder Wing
     The Lunder Wing, made possible by a challenge grant from Peter H. '56 and Paula Lunder H '98, is the newest addition to the Colby Museum of Art. The wing is exclusively for the exhibition of approximately 150 American works from the museum's permanent collection, many of which have had to be kept in storage until now. The pieces on display trace the development of art in this country from the middle of the 18th century into the early 20th century. The sparsely elegant brick exterior of the wing is suggestive of Early American architecture and blends well with surrounding campus buildings. The collection, most of which was created for domestic settings, is displayed advantageously in a domestically scaled series of 11 galleries. The wing also contains a sizable storage area.
     The Lunder grant also provides endowed accounts for museum security, conservation, exhibitions that focus on some aspect of the museum's collection, and student interns.
     "Thanks to the Lunders' generosity, important works of art, some of which we have had to keep largely in storage, now will be on view in these handsome new galleries," said President William R. Cotter. "By providing more museum space for exhibits, the Lunders have given a gift to the people of Maine and to art lovers who visit our state as well. We are grateful for all they have done to make Colby's one of the best college museums in the nation."

New Art Studios
Colby is currently raising funds to meet a challenge grant by the Lunder Foundation for urgently needed art studios. A two-storied building connected by a corridor to the west side of the Bixler Art and Music Center is scheduled for completion in 2001 and will create space for sculpture and painting studios. A small lounge and a courtyard will provide gathering space for students. The 9,000-square-foot addition is designed to blend well with the height and Federal architectural style of existing campus buildings and to balance the mass of the two new museum wings. The challenge grant will also supply funds for a full-time endowed curatorial position to help the museum keep up with its rapid growth and for the renovation of the existing art studios for use as photography, print making, and drawing studios.

CAMPAIGN FINAL REPORT HOMEPAGE
President's Letter
Facilities
Natural Sciences
Student Life
Residential Life
The Arts
Endowed Chairs
Endowed Scholarships
Participation Challenge
Growth Charts

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Colby College
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Waterville, ME 04901-8843
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e-mail: development@colby.edu