CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.- The Terra Museum of American Art closes today. Elizabeth Glassman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Terra Foundation for the Arts, wrote the folloing letter:

"October marks the Terra Museum of American Art's final month. After a period of intensive review and planning, the Board of Directors of the Terra Foundation for the Arts elected to close the Terra Museum and to expand the reach of the foundation's activities in American art presentation, scholarship, and education. Chicago will remain the headquarters of the Terra Foundation, which is dedicated to making the city a vital center for the study and exhibition of American art.

We will continue to develop our collection of more than 700 artworks, and to share it with the public at national and international venues, including at our sister institution in France, the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny. Beginning in mid-April 2005, a selection of approximately 50 paintings from the collection—including Samuel F. B. Morse's Gallery of the Louvre—will be on 15-year loan to the Art Institute of Chicago. The collections of the Terra and the Art Institute will be located in a new suite of galleries, and together will provide one of the world's most comprehensive presentations of American art.

In addition, much of our collection will be available online in November 2004, when we launch our Web site at www.terraamericanart.org. We hope you will visit the site frequently for information on the foundation's initiatives, including exhibitions, publications, symposia, and education programs. You can register now at www.terraamericanart.org if you wish to receive periodic updates on our activities.

We hope that you join us as we move forward with our exciting new plans in support of American art.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Glassman
President and Chief Executive Officer, Terra Foundation for the Arts"