Construction of Colby Museum Addition to Begin
Building construction of the Alfond-Lunder Family Pavilion at the Colby College Museum of Art begins in October. The 26,000-square-foot expansion will include 10,000 square feet of new exhibition space, making Colby’s the largest museum in Maine. The museum will close for construction Oct. 3, and selected galleries will reopen Nov. 8.
Designed by Los Angeles-based Frederick Fisher and Partners, the $15-million Alfond-Lunder Family Pavilion was initiated in response to Peter and Paula Lunder’s 2007 promised gift of art. The project will include a sculpture terrace and a classroom for museum education and outreach. Art Department studios will occupy the top floor of the addition, which is anticipated to achieve LEED-silver certification. The new space will open during Colby’s bicentennial year, and the opening exhibition in July 2013 will present works from the Lunder Collection.
Conceived as a glass pavilion that will reflect its natural and architectural context, the Alfond-Lunder Family Pavilion will create a unique identity for the museum at the corner of Mayflower Hill Drive and Bixler Drive. The main entrance to the museum will continue to be through the Schupf Courtyard, where Richard Serra’s sculpture 4, 5, 6 is on view. A secondary entrance will be available from Mayflower Hill Drive via a stairway to the sculpture terrace.
The Alfond-Lunder Family Pavilion is named in recognition of a gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation and the partnership and friendship between Harold Alfond and Peter Lunder. It celebrates the deep commitment of the Alfond and Lunder families to Colby and the state of Maine, and it reflects the Lunders’ desire that their collection be available to Maine people.
Site work associated with the project is currently underway. Though pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns have been altered, the full museum remains open to visitors through Oct. 2. Exhibitions on view include American Modern: Abbott, Evans, Bourke-White, which the Maine Sunday Telegram called “one of the most significant and powerful photographic exhibitions on view in the nation.” Visitors may park in the Roberts Lot and enter through the Bixler Art and Music Center.
On view beginning Nov. 8 and during construction will be an exhibition dedicated to the pavilion’s design, rotating highlights from the permanent collection, and works from the Alex Katz collection. Starting Nov. 8 visitors will enter through a temporary entrance adjacent to the Paul J. Schupf Wing for the Works of Alex Katz. For additional information, including directions, parking instructions, and hours, go to www.colby.edu/museum.