I’ve been living in the DC area for some 30 years now.  And about a decade ago (right after the curator, Emily Wei, married her billionaire boyfriend and owner of this art, Mitchell Rales, in 2008), I heard about a private museum that existed in the Maryland portion of the DC suburbs.  And, tried to cajole an invitation to view the art therein. 

Well, as you can see from the above “kiss-off”, I never quite made it.  (That was actually NOT my first attempt, either.)

 

Back then, Rales devoted a single building to house his some 1300 pieces of art.  But, over the years (and thanks to those tax loopholes we discussed yesterday), there are a slew  of pavilions (11, to be precise) sprawled across the 230 acres [204,000 square feet of exhibit space] of this private museum. (I haven’t seen the buildings in person, just pictures, but it’s clear that Thomas Phifer [the architect] and the Rales’ clearly developed a clear vision of how to show off the art at its best.  To the tune of some $ 200 million.)

This museum is very much like one of my other favorite museums- the Barnes, in Philadelphia.  Where the collector identified significant artists and then collected those pieces that the collector feels (felt) exemplify the style and capabilities of the artist(s).   And, like the Barnes, which stipulated that the art must be kept in specific layouts, the mission of this museum is to integrate “art, architecture and landscape,” providing the visitor with an intimate experience with which to engage the art pieces.  

Let’s first make something clear.  The Rales’ have decided that the family wealth (which they earned from the Danaher Corporation, now a Fortune 100 sci-tech enterprise, born as a real estate enterprise) will be used to make this campus an outstanding private museum.  Children and grandchildren may get some of the billions Mitchell Rales earned- but the bulk of his treasury is devoted to Glenstone, the museum’s moniker.

Besides the museum (per se), the Rales’ are also running an “Emerging Professionals Program”, where college graduates sign up for a two-year stint (replete with health insurance and a salary).   This is a way for some of those folks to avoid dreaded college loans for a grad school program in art history.

And, while this new manifestation of the museum will let 500 (instead of a dozen or so) visitors tour daily, it still won’t be a “public” institution. 

Of the 11 rooms, 9 are devoted to an exhibit of a single artist. (That’s nine separate artists.) The museum houses works of 52 artists.   Plus, sylvan forests and natural (not artificial) lighting,

The original pavilion, designed by Charles Gwathmey (which is what has existed since 2006) still remains.  And, the museum opened to the public this past Thursday, 4 October.

One of the key things about this museum is that the art is not just what is on the inside. It’s clear that the landscape design on the outside of the buildings contributes to the total experience.

The landscaping, done by  Peter Walker and his PWP Landscape Architecture (Berkeley CA), required the planting of 8000 trees (large ones)- but that was just a start.  Nine separate homes were acquired over the years to complete the museum experience- and then their structures (houses, driveways, outbuildings, swimming pools), streets, and driveways- were completely erased and integrated into one integrated design. That’s how those pathways and earthworks that guide our sight and attention came into being.

Now, I can spend time at the Barnes (Philadelphia), Norton Simon (Pasadena, CA), or Glenstone (here) museums.   And, of course, I can also enjoy all the wonderful art that adorns my walls here.

Have you checked out my new books?  Or that offer that obtains for about a month?