BALTIMORE, MD.- In celebration of The Baltimore Museum of Art’s 100th anniversary, the museum will reopen the Merrick Historic Entrance and the renovated Dorothy McIlvain Scott American Wing on November 23, 2014 with a new presentation of its outstanding collection of American art, considered one of the finest on the East Coast. Visitors will be able to explore new facets of American art, history, and culture through more than 850 paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts displayed throughout the second level of the museum’s original building, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece by the great American architect John Russell Pope.

The reinstallation of the American Wing marks a major milestone in the BMA’s $28 million renovation to provide visitors with a more welcoming environment and revitalized displays of the museum’s celebrated collections. The first phase was successfully completed with the November 2012 reopening of the Contemporary Wing. A dramatically redesigned Zamoiski East Entrance, Lobby, and BMA Shop are expected to open in late September or early October 2014. The final phase of the multi-year project will be marked by the reinstallation of the African and Asian art collections in April 2015 and the opening of a new center for learning and creativity in October 2015.

“Reopening the historic entrance will be an extraordinary moment during the BMA’s centennial celebration,” said BMA Director Doreen Bolger. “We are looking forward to throwing open the doors and welcoming visitors to a beautiful new presentation of our renowned American collection.”

Organized by BMA Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and American Painting & Sculpture David Park Curry, the museum’s magnificent new presentation of the American art collection invites visitors to explore more than 200 years of American art through a broad range of objects, most dating from 1760 through 1960. The reinstallation will place American art in a global context with artworks from England, France, and other countries displayed to emphasize our nation’s participation in international art circles and Baltimore’s role as a major center for art production and intercontinental trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Likewise, paintings and sculpture will be integrated with decorative arts to reveal the social, economic, and cultural links between the often-separated disciplines.

“By expanding the approach to American art both geographically and chronologically, the BMA’s reinstallation highlights the deep ties between American art, our nation’s history, and the broader world,” said Curry. “We hope visitors will be inspired by the stories contained in each of these incredible works of art, connecting the objects to the people who created and collected them.”

Among the highlights of the reinstallation is a gallery showcasing the spectacular stained glass, mosaics, and silver of Louis Comfort Tiffany; two galleries of modern American masterworks by Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacob Lawrence, Joseph Stella, and others; and a large salon-hung gallery of art produced in Maryland, created by Maryland artists, of Maryland subjects, or owned by Maryland collectors. Intriguing juxtapositions bring together pieces such as Jackson Pollock’s Water Birds (1943) with Frederick Shirley’s “lava” glass Vase (c. 1878), which anticipates drip painting by three quarters of a century. A selection of 21st-century objects, like Richard Lee’s Sinking and Burning (2005) cabinet with reverse glass painting, also reveal surprising connections between historic and contemporary American art. New acquisitions making their debut with the reopening include a lifetime cast of Frederic Remington’s Bronco Buster (1906) and one of five surviving examples of a Herter Brothers side chair (c.1883) commissioned for J. Pierpont Morgan’s Madison Avenue mansion.

The American Wing reinstallation also includes four late-18th century architectural interiors from historic homes in Maryland—Eltonhead Manor (c. 1760-70), Chestertown Room (c. 1771), Habre de Venture (c. 1773), and Willow Brook (1799) that will become galleries for silver and painted furniture.

Fascinating stories about the art, artists, and collectors will be told through BMA Go Mobile, a mobile-optimized website launched in 2012 that will be expanded with a rich selection of audio, video, and text; a new printed gallery guide with activities for families; and new wall texts.

In conjunction with the American Wing reopening, the BMA is presenting three new exhibitions that showcase the creativity of contemporary artists in the U.S. and the needlework achievements of 17th-20th-century American schoolgirls. In the Contemporary Wing On Paper: Alternate Realities (September 21, 2014–April 12, 2015) presents 26 prints by a diverse group of artists living and working in America who are engaging in a dialog between high and low art by playfully exaggerating and reimaging the visual language of popular culture—religious stories, myths, and folk tales—to consider larger issues of class, gender, and politics. Front Room: Dario Robleto (November 16, 2014– March 29, 2015) features sculptures, prints, and cut-paper works that weave together the histories of recorded light and sound inspired by nautical history, space exploration, early sound recordings, and family legacies within American popular music. The show debuts three works created by Robleto (American, born 1972) at the Headlands Center of the Arts in Sausalito, CA, including two inspired by the BMA’s proximity to The Johns Hopkins University Space Telescope Science Institute. A gallery dedicated to textiles in the American Wing will reopen with Lessons Learned: American Schoolgirl Embroideries (November 23, 2014–May 2015), an exhibition of more than 20 early American samplers and silk embroideries from the 1700s through the turn of the 20th century. These intricately embroidered textiles include landscapes, still lifes, literary and Biblical scenes, and tributes to national heroes.

Renovation of the Historic Merrick Entrance and the Dorothy McIlvain Scott American Wing
The BMA was John Russell Pope’s first museum commission and is often considered the institution’s largest work of art. The original grand entrance, which ushered generations of visitors into the museum from 1929 to 1982, will reopen to the public on November 23, 2014. Through the support of a $1 million gift from the France-Merrick Foundation, the historic entrance has been revitalized with an elegantly conserved façade and improved lighting. The reopening of the Merrick Historic Entrance will give more prominence to the Dorothy McIlvain Scott American Wing, which has been under renovation for two years. Visitors will enter a grand columned hall to view masterworks from the BMA’s expansive holdings of American art in 10 adjacent galleries and four architectural interiors.

Renovations to the Pope-designed Beaux-Arts building include restoring three of the original 1929 chandeliers for the center hall, improving gallery wall and floor finishes, installing state-of-the-art lighting, and adding visitor amenities such as a new reception desk. Pope’s original floor plan includes a diversity of art-viewing experiences throughout the wing, varying from intimate-sized galleries and period rooms to grand galleries with high ceilings and skylights.