….it is worth noting how much outstanding fine art is already located in this city of less than 250,000 that sits in a county of only about 460,000 — hardly a major metropolitan center or money axis to compete with New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis and even Milwaukee, all of which have much bigger populations and more wealthy patrons.
And the local collections are about to get even better. By a lot.
Although details are still being worked out, the Chazen is about to benefit mightily from a rich bequest by a New York businessman whose personal art collection included works by such titans as Giacometti, Picasso and Matisse among many others. Small wonder the Chazen desperately needs the new building that is scheduled to open by 2011.
(In addition the Chazen, the UW’s Gallery of Design and the Memorial Union Galleries also mentioned in this article.)