CROCKER ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES MAJOR EXPANSION TO OPEN IN 2010

ON 10.OCTOBER THE CROCKER ART MUSEUM, SACRAMENTO, CA, THE FIRST ART MUSEUM ESTABLISHED IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, UNVEILED A NEW 125,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING DESIGNED BY GWATHMEY SIEGEL & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS, THAT WILL MORE THAN TRIPLE THE MUSEUM'S CURRENT SIZE. THE NEW BUILDING WILL COMPLEMENT THE MUSEUM'S HISTORIC STRUCTURES AND EXPAND THE CROCKER ART MUSEUM'S ABILITY TO ORIGINATE AND PRESENT TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, EXHIBIT SIGNIFICANTLY MORE OF ITS GROWING COLLECTION, AND ENHANCE ITS ROLE AS A CULTURAL RESOURCE FOR CALIFORNIA AND THE STATE'S MANY VISITORS. THE PROJECT'S CAPITAL CAMPAIGN HAS ELICITED UNPRECEDENTED SUPPORT, WITH MORE THAN $90 MILLION RAISED TO DATE TOWARDS A $100 MILLION GOAL.
THE CROCKER ART MUSEUM, WHICH BECAME A PUBLIC INSTITUTION IN 1885, WILL MARK ITS 125th ANNIVERSARY IN 2010. THE MUSEUM'S HOLDINGS AND PROGRAMS HAVE BURGEONED AS THE POPULATION OF SACRAMENTO HAS INCREASED AND DIVERSIFIED. TODAY, THE MUSEUM HOUSES CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE AND MULTI-MEDIA WORKS, A COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF CALIFORNIA ART DATING FROM THE GOLD RUSH TO THE PRESENT DAY, EXCEPTIONAL HOLDINGS OF MASTER DRAWINGS, DUTCH AND FLEMISH PAINTINGS FROM THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES, 19th CENTURY CENTRAL AND NORTHERN EUROPEAN PAINTINGS, ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE INTERNATIONAL CERAMICS COLLECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND A RAPIDLY GROWING COLLECTION OF ASIAN ART. THE CROCKER CONTINUES TO BUILD ITS PROGRAMS AND STRENGTHEN ITS COLLECTIONS IN NEW AND EXISTING AREAS IN ANTICIPATION OF THE INCREASED CAPACITIES ITS NEW BUILDING WILL PROVIDE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.crockerartmuseum.org