Dear Museum Members and friends,
Thank you for your calls today checking on us and offering your support and assistance. As you likely know, the Museum was vandalized last night, June 1, 2020. Our security footage shows that these activities took place between 11:30pm and 12:30am.
We have spent the day removing graffiti from Henry Richardson’s sculpture on the plaza, Reflections on Unity. We were successful, and you will be pleased to see the work in excellent condition when you return downtown. As we wait for proper conservation guidance on how to safely clean spray paint from the historic North Wing’s marble and the West Wing’s glass wall, we have been grateful for the encouraging words of members of this community, many of whom have been downtown all day pitching in wherever they find a need.
We support the message of the protesters. We firmly believe that free speech is essential. Artists often create work that helps us address hard issues and to understand one another in new ways. The Museum provides opportunities for important dialogue prompted by their endeavors. Richardson’s work, and others on view in our Many Become One exhibition, were chosen to allow us to engage with each other in just such conversations.
Be well and be safe. I will be in touch again soon.
Pamela L. Myers
Executive Director