THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 28, 1996 TAG: 9610280049
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 59 lines
Teresa Bouchonnet and her family had never done the Chrysler before. But after spending Sunday exploring the museum, they're ready to be regulars.
And as the Chrysler celebrates its silver anniversary, that's the type of ``gift'' the museum's guardians welcome.
Joining hundreds of others who roamed around the grounds and inside the museum's pink granite walls on Sunday, Bouchonnet watched as her daughter won a door prize and her son galloped through the galleries with other children in a scavenger hunt.
And while their kids had fun, she and her husband caught tantalizing glimpses of the rich art that filled every room, from marble statues of nude 1st-century Romans to the experimental pop art of the 1960s.
``We didn't even have a chance to see too much, so we have to come back,'' said Bouchonnet. ``I think the museum is just great.''
It was families like theirs museum leaders had hoped to draw downtown to mark the 25th anniversary of the transformation of the sedate Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences into the beefy art institution, the Chrysler Museum.
The day provided ample activities. Legions of kids drew pictures on long tables set with brown paper underneath the museum's soaring center atrium. A troop of folk dancers led visitors in a lively version of the Macarena outside. And everyone gasped at the impressively accurate rendition of the museum in flour and frosting, prepared by the Gourmet Bake Shoppe in Virginia Beach.
Among those overseeing it all was Roy B. Martin Jr., past president of the museum and former Norfolk mayor.
``My theory of a museum is preservation and education,'' Martin said. ``This faculty is for all the people, and I hope this event is something we can continue in years to come.''
The museum, Martin said, validated the vision of the late Walter P. Chrysler Jr., the automobile-fortune heir who selected the majority of the museum's collection. When Chrysler donated his collection 25 years ago, Martin said, some museum trustees doubted its worth. Now it's valued at more than $1 billion, Martin said.
``He had an enormous vision,'' Martin said. ``He bought against the market. When other people were throwing out their Tiffany lamps, he was building a world-famous glass collection.''
Despite the museum's assets, the institution had a period of shaky finances in the last year, leading the museum to end their free-admission policy and to lay off some staff members. The museum receives about $1.75 million annually from the city of Norfolk, and another $500,000 from the state.
But the museum's financial house is now in order, Martin said, as a report due out soon would soon show. And on a sunny Sunday afternoon, it was clear that the museum was a much-loved institution. ILLUSTRATION: TAMARA VONINSKI
The Virginian-Pilot
Ruben Cantu, a Hispanic Folk Dance Group member, tips his hat to
fellow revelers after an Israeli dance. Several cultural groups
performed at the Chrysler Museum's birthday party Sunday. by CNB