San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum recently opened in its new location with much local fanfare. The museum owes its genesis to Chicago millionaire Avery Brundage who donated part of his extensive Asian art collection to San Francisco in the early 1960s. Meeting Brundage’s challenge to build a museum to house his donation, the city’s voters passed a $2,725,000 bond issue. The first incarnation of the museum opened in 1966. Brundage continued to donate his art and spurred the city to continue providing funds to grow the collection and pay for administration. He died in 1975, leaving the remainder of his collection to the city; his acquisitions comprise half of the museum’s 14,000 objects. A 1994 bond measure provided funds to renovate San Francisco’s former city library into a new museum building, and Chong-Moon Lee’s $15 million contribution kicked off the fundraising drive.

Galas feted top contributers prior to the March 20, 2003 opening. The architecture, by Gae Aulenti, who transformed a train station into Paris’ Musee d’Orsay, has been praised, especially for the retention of the library’s significant grand staircase and the use of light. Aulenti herself sounds pleased, although certain practical details frustrated her. An L.A. Times critic, however, feels the results lack imagination and that Aulenti did not bring out any tension between the old and the new. But although the building’s architecture was a key component of the renovation, display of art was the main goal, and everyone agrees on that success. The museum held a peaceful opening amongst the war protests outside.