New wing takes flight

Beach Museum of Art unveils 17,000-square-foot addition

 

A copper-clad1960 Dodge pickup truck is parked in the sculpture garden and a six-foot "toy" ship hangs inside * The walls still smell faintly of fresh paint, and a grand piano occupies the foyer.

These are all signs of a new era at K-State’s Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.

After a two-year expansion project, Beach Museum staff recently unveiled the Mary and Morgan Jarvis Wing.

"We started talking about the need for another wing at the museum’s fifth anniversary party in 2001," said Martha Scott, the museum’s business and marketing manager.

"When the museum opened in 1996, there were under 1,500 pieces in the permanent collection. Now the collection has over 6,000 pieces. Even by the fifth anniversary we knew we would need more space."

Funded with private donations, the new wing provides room for touring exhibits. It includes an outdoor gallery.

Museum staff members are excited about the new 17,000-square-foot, two-story wing, Scott said.

"We’ve had shows that were so large that we had no permanent collection on display," she said. "Now selections from the museum’s collection will be up at all times."

Currently, two exhibitions, "Paths to the Press: Printmaking and American Women Artists, 1910-1960," and "Let Me Show You the World: The Sewn Drawings of China Marks," are hanging in the new wing. Both shows originated at the Beach. "Copper Truck," by Elliott Pujol, K-State professor of art, dominates the outdoor sculpture garden.

In addition to the new gallery space, the wing provides more storage room and educational opportunities.

The added capacity will allow staff to work with students more easily, Scott said.

"If a class needs to see pieces, we can showcase them in the Vanier Gallery," she said. "It allows us to partner with K-State faculty and their classes."

The Beach Museum of Art is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information call 532-7718.

 

Photos: (Top) Looking toward the existing building from the new Hyle Family Gallery before exhibits were installed. (Bottom) A view of the Hempler Gallery from the new Mary and Morgan Jarvis Wing. (Photos by K-State photographic services)

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