The New Britain Museum of American Art is planning a major expansion to help fulfill its mission of collecting and exhibiting cultural works solely from the U.S.

The site of the new wing, which faces Walnut Hill Park, an 1869 landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, will add three levels of galleries, studios and classroom space to the 110-year-old institution.

The 20,000-square-foot addition will greatly enhance the Chase Family Building, completed in 2006, said Douglas Hyland, museum director. Since then, attendance has continued to climb. Museum staff marveled when about 40,000 visitors from 48 states attended a recent show of artist Louis Comfort Tiffany’s works that ran from June to September.

“We are very pleased to have a following in Connecticut, but more and more we are discovering that people are coming from Pennsylvania and Maine and from all over the country, so that our parking lot is frequently full,” Hyland said in a recent interview. “Our galleries don’t allow any more school tours” because they’re already at capacity.

The addition, set for a March 2014 groundbreaking, is being designed by Boston-based Ann Beha Architects. The choice is a fitting one – Beha’s firm designed the museum’s Chase Family Building. The initial design is meant to offer a welcoming, personal scale for visitors “that reflects New Britain’s mission and heritage,” according to the architect.

“The park setting and the exceptional collections inspired a design that is part of, but still distinct from, its neighborhood. Developing a contemporary design expression that is both intimate and civic has been our goal,” Beha said.

Raising Funds

Reaching such a high-minded goal is not a cheap one. The museum has raised more than $13 million toward the cost of building and operating the new wing. The new gallery and educational space will likely cost between $9.5 million and $10 million to construct. Part of that will be paid by a $4 million grant the museum received from the state Bond Commission.

However, museum director Hyland said he hopes to raise $20 million for future operating costs. About 40 new parking spaces will also be created to accommodate the increased attendance Hyland anticipates. The museum recently acquired three-quarters of an acre of adjacent land for the new parking.

“The state has very wisely endorsed some major tourist attractions,” Hyland mused.
But the money isn’t for just another tourist attraction. A third of the new space being built will be devoted to an art education center, with classrooms where visitors “from preschool to senior citizens” will engage with the artworks they’re observing, Hyland said. The studio classrooms will allow for an expanded a tour component. But they will also allow provide space for the museum to partner with New Britain and other municipalities to offer art education for preschoolers for “basic art schooling” they would not otherwise receive. The museum already houses a pilot art education program for schoolchildren, Hyland said.

“We know there’s a need and a want for it,” he added.

The addition also allows the museum to expand its cultural offerings. A section of the museum can now be devoted to an interactive, mixed-media exhibit full of with video and other new installations.

“We want to expand the area we devote to contemporary art in general,” Hyland said. The museum has acquired thousands of works of art over the last five years, and this will allow us the opportunity to show more of them. Connecticut has about a dozen of excellent repositories of art collections. We need to make sure our museums have the support to draw more people to our region.”

New Britain officials recognize the economic driving force such an institution provides for the city. Bill Carroll, business development coordinator for New Britain, was recently doing business with a New York developer who visited the city. Carroll said the developer was “totally blown away” after visiting the museum.

The city of New Britain is proud of the cultural significance it lends to the city. The expansion “will only serve our community in a positive way,” according to Carroll.

Email: jcronin@thewarrengroup.com