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Description |
In 1956 the state's art collection, much of which had been recently purchased, moved from temporary gallery space in the Education Building into the newly renovated State Highway Building in downtown Raleigh on Morgan Street. During opening ceremonies as the North Carolina Museum of Art, the museum was described by the editor of ART NEWS as holding "the most important public collection south of Richmond and east of the Pacific." In 1960, under the direction of Dr. W. R. Valentiner, the Museum of Art had completed its first phase of growth and development and had attracted numerous new donors. By the mid-1960s this facility had become woefully inadequate for the proper storage and exhibition of the state's expanding collection. In 1967 the General Assembly created the State Art Museum Building Commission to provide for the design and construction of a purpose- built museum that would adequately display and protect the state's art collection and accommodate its future growth. The duties of the commission were to determine the selection of a site on the proposed Heritage Square acceptable to the governor, Council of State, and the State Capital Planning Commission; to select and advise architects; to approve all architectural plans and drawings; and to enter into contracts for the construction of the building and the purchase of services, materials, furnishings, and equipment. The commission was authorized to receive public funds as well as private gifts from foundations, corporations, and individuals. It was to include nine members appointed by the governor; three persons who had served in the Senate appointed by the president, and three who had served in the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker. The governor was authorized to designate one member to serve as chairman, and former State Senator Thomas J. White was chosen. The commission was to report on its activities to the General Assembly at each regular session, and each member was to serve until all duties assigned to the commission had been completed. Under the Executive Organization Act of 1971, the State Art Museum Building Commission was transferred to the Department of Art, Culture, and History, headed by a cabinet-level secretary appointed by the governor. Although subject to the oversight of the secretary, the building commission retained its previous statutory powers. In the Executive Organization Act of 1973 the department was renamed the Department of Cultural Resources. Under the same legislation the commission was re-created as the Art Museum Building Commission. Its duties and composition remained virtually the same, except that a requirement was added that the site of the building was to be selected "in accordance with directions, if any, from the General Assembly." (This proviso became a factor in a lawsuit settled in 1975 by the North Carolina Supreme Court.) The law also specified that any vacancy was to be filled by the holder of the office originally authorized to make the appointment to the place vacated, whether governor, president of the Senate, or speaker of the House, and each new appointee was to have the qualifications that the law required of his predecessor. During the period from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, successive legislatures appropriated a total of $10.75 million for art museum building construction. During the same time, an additional five million dollars was raised by a Capital Campaign Committee, including approximately one million dollars from the Art Society. The commission chose as architects Edward Durell Stone and Associates of New York, who designed the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the North Carolina Legislative Building, with Holloway- Reeves as local associated architects. Although the 1967 legislation had alluded to a block on Heritage Square in downtown Raleigh as the future museum site, the 1969 General Assembly amended the act, removing the reference to a specific location. This action gave the Art Museum Building Commission legislative sanction to choose another site. The commission's Site Selection Committee employed Economic Research Associates of Washington, D.C.; held a public hearing under the auspices of the Department of Art, Culture and History during the early l970s; and studied the reports of the commission's other committees. In its final report the Site Selection Committee proposed the site favored by Economic Research Associates, a recommendation unanimously adopted by the commission. The site was on Blue Ridge Road within the corporate limits of Raleigh and on state-owned land that was at the time assigned to the Department of Correction. It encompassed approximately 164 acres, included ample space for parking and possible future expansion, and was easily accessible from Interstate 40. The commission's decision to take the Museum of Art out of central Raleigh where it was felt by many to be more accessible to the ordinary citizen and to school children, led to critical editorials, heated legislative battles, and to lawsuits. However, the commission's site selection was also approved by state officials as required by law, and in January 1973 and August 1974 the Council of State authorized the transfer of the proposed property from the Department of Correction to the Art Museum Building Commission. The Commission also won favorable rulings by the Wake County Superior Court in 1974 and the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1975. Under terms of the land transfer, forty-five acres were temporarily reserved for the Department of Correction and specified for continued use by the youthful prison offenders unit, known as Polk Youth Center. In 1977 the General Assembly mandated that legislative approval was required before the Art Museum Building Commission would be permitted to make use of that reserved acreage. During September 1977, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the new building. In 1979 the General Assembly directed that the Art Museum Building Commission was to continue to exercise its powers and perform its duties until the building had been completed, dedicated, and occupied; the state's art collection had been suitably exhibited or stored; and the commission's biennial report or final report had been submitted to the legislature, whichever occurred last. The museum's dedication ceremonies were conducted by Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., in May 1981, and the grand opening for the public was held in April 1983, in a facility four times the size of the former one on Morgan Street. In 1986 the General Assembly stipulated that the Art Museum Building Commission was to expire upon the submission of its final report, which was to be submitted 120 days after the final resolution of all construction cases or claims involving the commission or the North Carolina Museum of Art. During the last part of the decade the commission completed its duties and ceased to function. REFERENCES: P.L., 1929, c. 314. P.L., 1947, c. 500. S.L., 1961, c. 731. S.L., 1967, c. 1142. S.L., 1969, c. 545. S.L., 1971, c. 864, s. 19(11). S.L., 1973, c. 476, s. 1; s. 39-43. S.L., 1977, c. 802, s. 25.25. S.L., 1979, c. 1306, ss. 2-6. S.L., 1985, c. 1028, s. 15. G.S. 143B-58 through 143B-61.1 [1992]. Department of Cultural Resources. ANNUAL REPORT: JULY 1, 1972-JUNE 30, 1973. Raleigh, 1973. Pp. 103-110. Fiscal Research Division. North Carolina General Assembly. CAPITAL FACILITIES PROGRAM REVIEW. Raleigh, 1993. Pp. 76-77. Lewis v. White, NORTH CAROLINA REPORTS 287 (1975): 625-645. London, George E. "50th Birthday in Review." Address at Annual Dinner of the N.C. Art Society, Hilton Inn, Raleigh, December 1, 1976. In 1976 ANNUAL REPORT, 50TH ANNIVERSARY. Art Society Record Group. North Carolina State Archives. Raleigh, N.C. Printed program. North Carolina Museum of Art. Department of Cultural Resources. THE NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART: A BRIEF HISTORY. Raleigh, 1986. %7EFor information about related agencies, see the agency histories for the Art Society Record Group (#188) and the North Carolina Museum of Art Record Group (#81). SEE ALSO: Supreme Court Case, Spring 1952, Case No. 449, North Carolina State Art Society, Inc., North Carolina State Art Commission, Dr. Robert Lee Humber (chairman) et als v. Henry L. Bridges (state auditor). |
