A $37.6 million expansion and renovation at the Columbus Museum of Art, in Ohio, recently concluded after two years of construction. With a new wing and significantly augmented gallery space, the museum will have more beautifully modern space to showcase its collection of 13,500 artworks.
Columbus-based architecture firm DesignGroup was tasked with the project. The team added the Margaret M. Walter Wing, a 50,000-square-foot, two-story extension that will better accommodate contemporary works, which often are large and need breathing room within an installation. The new wing has a base of limestone panels and is topped by a long, rectangular tube—encased in panels of green-patinated copper—that cantilevers boldly at both ends, giving the structure a sense of energy.
The Columbus Museum of Art boasts a strong collection of pieces from early modern American and European artists. Many of the museum's highlights come from the Ferdinand Howald Collection, which features paintings by Machine Age American masters Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, and Marsden Hartley, as well as works by leading 20th-century figures such as Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse. For more information visit columbusmuseum.org.
