BRUNSWICK, ME.- The Bowdoin College Museum of Art celebrated its public re-opening and its renewed position as the cornerstone of the arts and culture at Bowdoin following an ambitious renovation and expansion project that showcases the Museum's historic Walker Art Building. Established in 1811, with collections spanning from the ancient world to the 21st century, and housed in a building designed by Charles Follen McKim of McKim, Mead and White, the newly restored Bowdoin College Museum of Art will be a vital resource for the campus and community.

The design, by architects Machado and Silvetti Associates of Boston, creatively combines a preservationist's techniques with new architecture that respectfully enhances the old. It integrates the Museum's traditional features with a dramatic new entry pavilion, an inviting glass curtain wall, and a complete renovation of the entire interior of the building. This includes an underground expansion, which provides 63 percent more space than the original building while preserving the landmark structure, and increases the number of galleries from seven to fourteen.

The Museum's inaugural year of exhibitions and programming focuses on the permanent collection and emphasizes the juxtaposition of the old and the new. Exhibitions include the reinstallation of the Museum's famed Assyrian reliefs in a dedicated gallery; Transformations: Traditional and Contemporary Chinese Art in Dialogue, bringing together works from Bowdoin's Asian collection with contemporary Chinese art; The American Scene, reflecting America's move from European precedents to its own identity through portraits and landscapes; Ancient Art: Ancient Passions, featuring highlights and treasured bronzes, marbles, ceramics and coins; and Modern Times: Alumni Collect, showcasing alumni collections with works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Kiki Smith, Betye Saar, and Glenn Ligon.