Museum's deco gem gives art its place

SUCCESSFUL museums eventually acquire more art than space to display it. In the vaults of Philadelphia's Museum of Art, or the Barnes or the Metropolitan in New York, and especially the Vatican, are pieces that are rarely seen by the public.

But thanks to a $15 million gift in 2000 by Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman, many valuable pieces from Philadelphia's collection will move across the street from the Art Museum to another work of art - the magnificent art deco building that now bears the Perelman name.

The exotically detailed building on Pennsylvania Avenue was erected in 1926 (two years before the museum) for the Fidelity Mutual Insurance Co., and in recent years was owned by the Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co. Ninety-million dollars later, the museum's addition will open to the public on Sept. 15.

This trapezoid-shaped building, wrapping around the obtuse angle of Fairmount and Pennsylvania avenues between 25th and 26th streets, will house prints, photographs, textiles, drawings and other objects - many of which are sensitive to bright light - as well as sculpture. Thanks to a $500,000 grant from Wachovia Bank, the building will offer free admission until the end of this year.

On the front of its newly restored granite exterior are Egyptian-style reliefs symbolic of insurance by noted German-born art deco sculptor Lee Lawrie. Stone carvings on both wings and the central pier decorate one of the city's most striking art deco buildings. Around the back, a two-story windowless brick addition extends to a service road.

Walking up the steps through the extravagant façade, the visitor enters a small lobby. On the left is a gift shop, an elevator and the entrance to a sculpture gallery sporting some fanciful pieces and a 1968 Jean Dubuffet, "Landscape with Tree," which hasn't been displayed in more than 20 years. On the right are stairs and the entrance to a spacious center for prints, drawings and photos, with curator offices along its long span.

Ahead is the end of the major long gallery, lit from a skylight and reflectors above, with a John Chamberlain construction from car bodies in primary colors straight ahead. One wall has the building's original yellow brick, the other a sandy concrete brick with rough edges that gently curves out as it rises. Along that wall are doorways to the Stieglitz photography exhibition, the Joan Spain gallery of costumes by famed Philadelphia-born designers, and another of ceramics and interior design, with a pre-Columbian Mexican piece between two doorways.

At the end of the gallery is a quirky Joan Miro and a stark Henry Moore, with a large window emphasizing architect Richard Gluckman's desire to connect with the neighborhood by displaying a tree and the back of local rowhouses.

The opposite end leads to a cafe with outdoor seating. Upstairs are several small exhibition spaces, the center for costumes and textiles, and the educational-resource center. This area, peopled by retired and continuing volunteer teachers, and by curators, is packed with kid-friendly learning tools, headsets, wi-fi and computer access, books and videos, and will surely become a popular destination.

"The object," said Gluckman, "was to have the visitor come from bright light into the moderate lobby, to the diffuse light of the long gallery with its dark floor, then into the very subtle lighting of the display rooms for objects sensitive to light. It was clear from the beginning that the sculpture gallery was the only room which could have direct window light.

"Another goal was to break down the difference between the private and public aspect of the museum, giving the visitor a sense of what's available for scholarship. In truth, it's almost more an educational facility than a museum facility."

Two-thirds of the building's space consists of conservation labs, workshops, climate-controlled storage, the resource center, study rooms, library and offices.

"It's a place to study, to preserve, and to conserve," said the enthusiastic director of the museum, Anne d'Harnoncourt. "The building, which we now own, has been a potential addition for 40 years, considering that we ran out of space across the street 30 years ago. We will have 180,000 works of art by next year, so, in this city of universities and art schools, we are offering a collection for the community." *