Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art 4525 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64111 816-751-1278 Kansas City Front Page is a weekly news publication, with daily updates, spotlighting attractions, events, business and hospitality in Kansas City. Kansas City Front Page Kansas City News Business News KC Job News Art Gallery News KC Hotel News Local Attractions KC Entertainment Union Station Power & Light District Sprint Center City Market Country Club Plaza Nelson-Atkins Museum KC Convention Center Truman Sports Complex KC Fountains

The Beaux-Arts Nelson-Atkins campus transformation is leading a field of new investments in local cultural infrastructure that is becoming known as Kansas City's "$6 Billion Renaissance." The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of the nation's finest encyclopedic art museums. The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access and insight into its renowned collection of more than 34,500 art objects, and is best known for its Asian art, European paintings and modern sculpture. Adelaide Cobb Ward Sculpture Hall features: Adam (1880) by Auguste Rodin, and Lion, a 4th century marble sculpture from Attica. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region, and a national model for arts education. The Nelson-Atkins' campus transformation also is leading a field of new investments in local cultural infrastructure that is becoming known as Kansas City's "$6 Billion Renaissance." On November 4, 2005, the Nelson-Atkins unveiled its new Adelaide Cobb Ward Sculpture Hall. The Sculpture Hall connects the two buildings and represents the crossroads at the heart of the reconfigured Museum. Adjacent to Kirkwood Hall, the entryway of the original Nelson-Atkins Building, the Sculpture Hall now forms a central gallery connecting the older facility to the new main lobby in the Bloch Building. Renovations to the 72-year-old Nelson-Atkins building are also a major component of the campus project. The Sculpture Hall is the first of comprehensive changes to the gallery spaces to open, while the exterior cleaning has renewed the splendor of the 1933 façade. The Ford Learning Center, a major education initiative which revamped the first floor of the Nelson-Atkins Building to serve as a teaching space and resource for educators and students throughout the region, opened in September 2005. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art features a renowned collection of more than 34,500 art objects Other renovations include the renewal and repair of Kirkwood Hall and the 500-seat Atkins Auditorium; the addition of the Ford Learning Center, the cleaning and conservation of the Nelson-Atkins stone façade; the refurbishment and replication of chandeliers, fixtures and Beaux-Arts detailwork throughout; new elevators for transporting both visitors and art; and upgrades to the infrastructure and roofing. This space provides a pivotal juncture for visitors traveling between the Bloch and Nelson-Atkins buildings. It also serves as a striking environment in which to highlight three of the Museum's most significant monumental sculptures: Adam (1880) by Auguste Rodin, Atlanta and Meleager with the Cayldonian Boar (1564) by Francesco Mosca, and Lion, a 4th century marble sculpture from Attica. The new Bloch Building, named in honor of Henry W. Bloch, Chairman of The Nelson-Atkins Board of Trustees, and his wife Marion, is the centerpiece of the campus transformation. The Block Building opened June 7, 2007 with a major exhibition, "Monet to Maatisse", Impressionsist Masters from the Marion and Henry Block Collection. The slender, elongated extension runs 840 feet along the edge of the Museum's Sculpture Park and provides a delicate counterpoint to the Beaux-Arts Nelson-Atkins. The Bloch Building is a significant work of contemporary architecture, weaving through the landscape with partially submerged galleries and elevated glass lenses rising from the lawn. The new Bloch Building is the centerpiece of the campus transformation at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The Kansas City Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Kansas City area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 2007 - 2008 Moore Design Group.

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