Feature Story

At the Museum

With the spring thaw, bulldozers and backhoes arrived at the art museum. A hard-hat crew erected safety fencing, and initial ground cuts tore into the sculpture court on the south side of the building. After months-some might say years-of planning and fundraising, construction and renovation of the art building finally began.

Inside, art handlers bustled, continuing the painstaking process of removing the last of the 11,000 objects in the museum's collection. Working with objects ranging from ancient coins (some only one centimeter in diameter) to larger-than-life contemporary sculptures, they checked each item's condition and referenced its inventory number, description and location. Then, using various archival protectors, from bubble wrap to Styrofoam, the team deftly packaged every work of art, assigned a packing-box number, completed the paperwork and sent crate after crate out the door for safe storage.

Years ago, for security purposes and to create more hanging space in the main gallery, the building's south-side glass wall was covered over. In May, when construction workers removed this layer, the expansive view revealed the completed foundation for the gallery's 3,400-square-foot addition.

As the foundation cured, the inside crew, having wrapped the last of the art objects, focused on packing and moving furniture, exhibition cases, shelving, tools, matboards, work benches, desks, reference materials and more from the museum's storage and office facilities. And then the move was done-without a moment to spare. At the very instant art handlers popped their champagne corks, sledgehammers broke through the window wall, giving new meaning to the celebratory clinking of glass.

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