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Guggenheim Museum in Las Vegas is closing its doors on May 11, 2008.
Initially, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation opened two Las Vegas locations in 2001, but mere 15 months later had to close the larger one, because of shortage of funds and the luckluster attendance.
“Guggenheim Hermitage, a partnership between the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, was the smaller of the two”, located in the Venetian Hotel and stayed open for the next 7 years, until now.
Guggenheim Hermitage had 10 major exhibits in seven years. Visitors could see works by Degas, Picasso, Chagall, Kandinsky, Rothko, Modigliani, Klee and others.
“It’s a big loss to not have the great works of art on display and in our community,” said Libby Lumpkin, executive director of the Las Vegas Art Museum.
“…We sent our finest collections, our masterpieces,” she said, “masterworks that we committed to long periods of time in Las Vegas, things that were not available for loan to other museums anywhere in the world or even for us. I think that’s a pretty profound commitment to very high standards of exhibition in Las Vegas in a space designed by one of the world’s leading architects. I don’t see how that can be interpreted to anything but caring.”
Many factors, combined together, brought on the demise and the closure of this fine museum, which will be missed by many.
The museum will stay open until May 11 and will offer free admission.
Source: Art Knowledge News and Las Vegas Sun.
While Las Vegas has other art galleries, it will only have one on the Strip: the fine arts gallery at the Bellagio.
