{"id":267796,"date":"2026-01-05T04:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T04:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/267796\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T04:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T04:25:14","slug":"honoring-the-past-with-big-plans-ahead-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/267796\/","title":{"rendered":"Honoring the past, with big plans ahead \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

A month or so before the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego opened its doors on Feb. 28, 1926, inaugural director Reginald Poland arrived in town with a trove of precious international artworks to fill the new Balboa Park building\u2019s galleries.<\/p>\n

Among the works donated and lent by galleries and private collectors for the opening exhibition were a 12th-century illuminated manuscript from Spain, an El Greco, a Velasquez, a Murrillo, some French Impressionist works and the local Spreckels family\u2019s collection of 104 bronze sculptures by Arthur Putnam. There was also the museum\u2019s most prized possession, its first acquisition, Spanish artist Joaqu\u00edn Sorolla\u2019s 1907 oil painting \u201cMaria at La Granja.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Diego Evening Tribune visual art columnist Hazel Boyer Braun wrote in her Feb. 1, 1926, column that the opening of such a grand new arts institution in Southern California had triggered such a frenzy of generosity, it created \u201ca wave of happiness which ends only in infinity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ConstructionConstruction under way in 1925 on the facade of the Fine Arts Gallery in Balboa Park. The building was renamed the San Diego Museum of Art in 1978. (SDMA Archives)
\nA century of art<\/p>\n

The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego \u2014 which was renamed the San Diego Museum of Art in 1978 \u2014 celebrates its 100th birthday next month.<\/p>\n

After starting out with a mix of mostly borrowed and donated items a century ago, the museum today boasts a world-renowned collection of more than 39,000 items, including many Spanish Old Masters and significant numbers of French, Indian, Asian and American works. Annual attendance now tops 550,000, about five times its visitor numbers in 2010.<\/p>\n

\n

San Diego Museum of Art 100-year timeline<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To mark the diamond anniversary this year, the museum\u2019s staff is dedicating its galleries to exhibitions that celebrate its past, present and future.<\/p>\n

Four exhibits scheduled from this month through September will showcase the history of the museum and important works in its collection. And an ongoing exhibit will give visitors a taste of what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n

Since 2023, the museum has been working toward building a new and larger west wing to replace the small and outdated wing that opened in 1966. This year, full details on the construction project\u2019s capital campaign will be announced, with a goal of breaking ground on construction in the second half of 2027.<\/p>\n

The new west wing, being designed by the internationally renowned architecture firm Foster + Partners<\/a>, would double the museum\u2019s existing gallery space, introduce state-of-the-art storage vaults for its collection and enhance the visitor experience with more restaurants, a new theater, digital art galleries and much more.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Diego Museum of Art Executive Director and CEO Roxana Velasquez.<\/p>\n

Roxana Vel\u00e1squez, who has served as the museum\u2019s Executive Director and CEO since 2010, said that while the museum has transformed over the years its mission has always remained the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne hundred years is a great moment to look back into the past and see what have we have accomplished, how we have served the community and how the museum has played an important part in our city,\u201d Vel\u00e1squez said. \u201cThe museum has always brought the best art produced around the world to the people, allowing them to be exposed and ignited by this wonderful work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur centennial is not just a reflection on our remarkable history, but a bold declaration of our future. We are celebrating with world-class exhibitions and inclusive initiatives to ensure art remains accessible to everyone in San Diego.\u201d<\/p>\n

To mark the 100th anniversary, a public birthday party wil take place on Feb. 28 with free admission, live entertainment and more.<\/p>\n

Today and tomorrow<\/p>\n

San Diego Museum of Art is best known for its Spanish Old Masters collection, but over the decades, donations of large collections of French, East Asian and South Asian art have deepened its vast catalog. And when the museum merged in 2023 with the Museum of Photographic Arts, more than 10,000 photographic images joined the collection.<\/p>\n

Vel\u00e1squez, who came to San Diego in 2010 after running three prestigious museums in Mexico City, said her goal in San Diego has been to deepen and fill in the gaps of the existing collection. Not including the MOPA collection, she has acquired more than 6,000 pieces for the collection over the past 15 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve devoted lot of my tenure building strength in our collections by acquiring Old Masters at the highest level possible,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about budget, it\u2019s about finding the perfect piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the most high-profile deals she secured were the 2021 acquisition of Jusepe de Ribera\u2019s 1615 work \u201cSusanna and the Elders,\u201d and the 2018 acquisitions of Lucas Cranach the Younger\u2019s 1540 \u201cThe Nymph of Spring\u201d and John Singer Sargent\u2019s 1892 \u201cPortrait of John Alfred Parsons Millet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vel\u00e1squez has also overseen the growth of the museum\u2019s touring art program, which has sent both individual artworks and complete exhibitions out into the world. The museum\u2019s 2023 exhibit of works by Georgia O\u2019Keefe and Henry Moore has traveled to four other museums in the U.S. and Canada, and in 2025, pieces from the museums collection were shown in Tokyo, Kyoto and Seoul.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Diego Ballet dancers Jessica Conniff and Marshall Whiteley in front of the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. The dance company is in the midst of a one-year residency at the museum. (Patricia Martinez)<\/p>\n

Vel\u00e1squez has also been at work expanding community outreach and deepening the museum\u2019s ties to San Diego\u2019s performing arts community. San Diego Ballet is in the midst of a one-year residency at the museum, and the museum regularly hosts concerts and other performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to be just a museum of paintings and engravings,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to be a space for performing arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another outreach program is the MySDMA Partnership with San Diego Public Library, which was launched in October. This art and literacy program at the library\u2019s City Heights branch provides weekly, free hands-on art-making activities based on the museum\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn artist\u2019s rendering of Foster + Partners\u2019 design concept for the San Diego Museum of Art\u2019s new west Wing (at center left). (Foster + Partners)
\nThe new west wing<\/p>\n

As the museum\u2019s collection and programs expand, it increasingly outgrows its buildings. Vel\u00e1squez said there\u2019s only enough gallery space now to exhibit 10% to 12% of its collection. That\u2019s why the new west wing project is moving front and center in the museum\u2019s priorities moving forward.<\/p>\n

Vel\u00e1squez said the museum\u2019s fundraising project for the new wing is on track with more than 25 percent of its goal already raised. Soon, the museum hopes to announce the project\u2019s lead naming donor.<\/p>\n

The proposed design<\/a> of the new wing will maintain roughly the same height profile as the other museums along El Prado and will have shaded loggias wrapping around its two-story exterior, with two additional stories of gallery and archive space below ground \u2014 doubling the museum\u2019s exhibition space.<\/p>\n

The design will retain the outdoor sculpture garden, but the garden would include a new free-to-all arts education center and reading room, and the tall steel fencing that now separates the garden from the public along El Prado and near the Old Globe theater campus would be removed.<\/p>\n

The new wing would also include new dining options at different price points including a grab-and-go market and a more upscale rooftop restaurant that will overlook the park. The existing patio restaurant\/bar Panama 66 will carry on in the new west wing plans. The museum is also hoping to enhance the empty courtyard in front of the main building with a water feature and trees.<\/p>\n

An ongoing exhibit of Foster + Partners\u2019 renderings and models for the new wing have been warmly received by museum visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear nothing but excitement,\u201d Vel\u00e1squez said.<\/p>\n

Here is a deeper look at this year\u2019s exhibitions and how they will help tell the museum\u2019s past and future.<\/p>\n

\"AA Faberg\u00e9 Egg balloon is grounded in front of the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park to promote its 1989 exhibition \u201cFaberg\u00e9: The Imperial Eggs.\u201d (SDMA Archives)
\nSDMA 100 Years \u2014 January 24 through July 26<\/a><\/p>\n

This exhibition of photographs, ephemera and historical film footage will highlight the key moments in the history of the museum. This includes how the museum started as an idea in 1915-16, its construction and opening in 1926, its conversion into a hospital during World War II, its modernization with a new west wing in the 1960s and \u201970s, blockbuster exhibits in the 1980s and \u201990s and plans for the future west wing. Museum visitors will be invited to share their own personal memories and photographs from the museum\u2019s past. Galleries 14 and 15, Mrs. Thomas J. Fleming Sr. Foyer.<\/p>\n

Local Visions: Reimagining the facade \u2014 January 24 through July 26<\/a><\/p>\n

Bridging the past and present, this exhibit offered 10 local artists the opportunity to reimagine the museum\u2019s Spanish Colonial Revival facade from their own contemporary perspective. Featured artists will include San Diego artists Stefanie Bales, Hilary Dufour, Annie Holley, Mary Jhun, Lori Mitchell, Tim Novara and Susan Stone; Chula Vista artists John Chang and Wagner Humphreys; and Jamul artist Brandon Palma. Gallery 6, first floor.<\/p>\n

\""Moulin\u201cMoulin Rouge \u2014 La Goulue, 1891,\u201d a lithograph poster on paper by French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It was donated to the San Diego Museum of Art in 1987 by the Baldwin M. Baldwin Foundation. It will be part of \u201cCaf\u00e9s and Cabarets: The Spectacular Art of Toulouse-Lautrec,\u201d showing at the museum April 4-Sept. 20, 2026.
\n\u201cCafes and Cabarets: The Spectacular Art of Toulouse-Lautrec\u201d \u2014 April 4 through June 20<\/a><\/p>\n

This exhibit will showcase one of the museum\u2019s most prized collections.In 1987, the Baldwin Foundation donated more than 100 paintings, drawings and prints from the collection of Baldwin M. Baldwin, a Toulouse-Lautrec connoisseur whose holdings of the artist\u2019s work were among the most comprehensive in the world and which were first shown at The San Diego Museum of Art in 1972. Fifty items from this collection will be exhibited in the \u201cCafes and Cabarets\u201d show. Gallery 18, second floor.<\/p>\n

Forging a Legacy: 15 Years of Landmark Acquisitions \u2014 May 16 though Sept. 7<\/a><\/p>\n

This exhibit will showcase some of the museum\u2019s major acquisitions since Vel\u00e1squez arrived. Among the museum\u2019s most prominent recent purchases were the 2021 purchase of Jusepe de Ribera\u2019s 1615 work \u201cSusanna and the Elders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnAn early concept proposal for the San Diego Museum of Art\u2019s new west wing, which will be built in 2026. This perspective faces west, with a new museum entrance where Panama 66 restaurant now stands. (Foster + Partners for SDMA)
\nA New Vision for the Next Century \u2013 Ongoing<\/a><\/p>\n

This exhibition, which opened last August, features design concepts for the museum\u2019s new west wing project, designed by London\u2019s Foster + Partners. The exhibit includes artist\u2019s renderings and large-scale\u00a0 models of the project. Gallery 11, first floor.<\/p>\n

San Diego Museum of Art Birthday Fest<\/strong><\/p>\n

What:<\/strong> To celebrate the museum\u2019s centennial, admission will be free all day, followed by hands-on art crafts, live entertainment and a booth fair on museum\u2019s front steps (from 4:30-7 p.m.).<\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 28<\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego (also 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at MOPA@SDMA)<\/p>\n

Admission:<\/strong> Free<\/p>\n

Phone:<\/strong> 619-232-7931<\/p>\n

Online:<\/strong> sdmart.org\/event\/birthday-fest<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A month or so before the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego opened its doors on Feb. 28,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,136864,1374,366,18,117,19,17,2323,6612,55562,9852,12167],"class_list":{"0":"post-267796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-balboa-park","13":"tag-california","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-eire","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-latest-headlines","20":"tag-san-diego","21":"tag-san-diego-county","22":"tag-things-to-do","23":"tag-visual-arts"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115840596335110973","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}