By Samantha Moll
Recent visitors to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) have been told to use the back door, but not because museum officials have deemed tourists and students unfit to enter from the main entrance.
As part of its ongoing renovation project, Northeastern’s neighbor reopened its Fenway Entrance last month. The new entrance, first used in 1915, had been closed since the late 1970s, said Mary Keith, a n MFA spokesperson.
The $500 million “Building the New MFA” project consists of major renovations and enhancements to the museum and is scheduled to be completed in late 2010, Keith said.
The Fenway Entrance has architecture similar to the Huntington Avenue entrance, with large columns surrounding the doorway.
“It’s very impressive and Romanesque,” said Jason Johansen, a tourist exiting the museum onto the Fenway.
The new entrance overlooks the Fens and features new sidewalks, lighting and fountains. It’s also marked by two large sculptures of eight-foot-tall baby heads, sculted by by Antonio Lopez Garcia, which used to be located at the Huntington Avenue entrance. The pair of sculptures is titled “Day and Night,” and is part of a larger series of Garcia’s work that will be on display inside the museum until July 27.
The renovation will also call for the construction of an improved visitor center and a new four-story wing of ancient art from the Americas that will be connected to the building by an enclosed glass and steel courtyard, Keith said. Beneath the courtyard there will be a new gallery for large special exhibitions.
The renovations and expansions will increase the MFA’s space by 133,500 square feet, or more than 25 percent, according to a press release.
During the ongoing renovations most of the galleries remain open and the museum remains a good destination for college students, Keith said.
“In regards to the exhibitions, I think the Winslow Homer and Art Nouveau are good ones [for college students],” Keith said.
The “Winslow Homer: American Scenes” exhibition runs until Dec. 7 and features paintings and etchings in various media from the American artist, and is located just inside the Fenway Entrance.
“I like the Winslow Homer exhibition because it shows a lot of different types of his work,” said Bryan Allard, a junior mechanical engineering major. Allard said Homer is one of his favorite artists and said he was excited a show featuring the artist’s work was at the MFA.
However, Allard said he wasn’t a big fan of the new entrance.
“The new entrance isn’t that much different than the one on Huntington Avenue,” Allard said. “It is a little more inconvenient though, depending on where you live on campus.”
The “Imperishable Beauty: Art Nouveau Jewelry” exhibition has about 120 pieces crafted around the turn of the 20th century by the leading designers of Art Nouveau jewelry and the exhibition is on view from July 23 to Nov. 9.
The MFA is open Saturday through Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Admission is free to Northeastern students with a valid NU ID.
