The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville has matured from a concept born 20 years ago in the academic halls of the University of Florida to one of the largest visual arts institutions in Florida. The 68,000-square-foot facility has a yearly attendance of approximately 78,000, a collection of 6,000 works of art and a 20,000-square-foot wing under construction.

A work of art itself, the layout of the museum seems at once intimate and grand with small surprises along the way — a sun-drenched alcove, a glass-enclosed atrium — that provide quiet spots for contemplation. Designed by architects Kha-Le Huu and Jackson-Reeger, the structure strikes a harmonious balance between form and function, providing a fitting backdrop for its expansive collections.

Though the museum serves the academic community, its reach extends well beyond the campus. “As a university museum, we have a dual mission. One is to serve the university, the students and the faculty, to provide exhibitions that will relate to and enrich their studies,” Museum Director Dr. Rebecca Nagy says. “But we also have a mission to serve the community, Gainesville, Alachua County and beyond. We try to provide programming that will be of interest and relevant to families with children, senior citizens, people of all ages. We hope that on any visit, people will find something that is stimulating, that they enjoy looking at, but also learning about.”

The Harn, as it is commonly known, houses a sizable collection that would normally have taken decades to amass. Thanks to a combination of private and public funding, the museum established itself with an exceptional body of work.

In 1983, three generations of Sam Harn’s family, after whom the museum is named, donated more than $3 million to build a fine arts institution. In addition, private gifts were raised, and in 1985 and 1986, the Florida State Legislature allocated another $4 million to the project. Throughout the years, the museum has developed a generous endowment for acquisitions, exhibitions and educational programs. “We’re fortunate to have many supportive and generous donors who contribute to the collection,” Nagy says.

Included in the museum’s permanent collection are noteworthy pieces of West African and Asian art; paintings by artists such as Claude Monet, Milton Avery, George Luks, Raphael Soyer, Isabel Bishop and George Bellows; and sculptures by Gaston Lachaise, John Storrs and Jose de Creeft, among others.

True to its mission, the Harn also offers a wide variety of temporary exhibitions. Currently on view until Oct. 12, 2003, is an exhibition of works by Realist artist Janet Fish, whose still lifes glisten with sunlight and pastel hues. “We’ve placed the exhibit in the most intimate gallery. I think it works very well to show off her paintings,” says Kerry Oliver-Smith, curator of contemporary art. “They are really luscious, gorgeous canvases … so vivid, full of color and light.”

A rebel of sorts, Fish is known “for reviving the whole genre of still life, giving it a whole new life of its own,” Oliver-Smith says. The daughter of a sculptor and an American Impressionist, Fish grew up in the 1940s and ’50s surrounded by art. Further influenced by Abstract Expressionism and, most probably, by the light and vibrant colors of Bermuda, the sunny island where she spent part of her childhood, Fish is certainly a product of her upbringing.

Seven paintings comprise the “summery” exhibit in which Fish’s exploration of fleeting time, light, surface and scale is fully realized. Technically considered realistic works, these monumental paintings border on the abstract — no diminutive fruit plates or floral arrangements here. When viewed up close, her two-dimensional works appear three-dimensional with their dissolving patterns of color and light.

Showing concurrently with the Fish exhibit is a display of mixed-media sculpture by UF professor emeritus Jack Nichelson; the documentary work of renowned photojournalist Sebastião Salgado; and photography from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Beginning on Sept. 2, 2004, the museum showcases the works of “Park Avenue Cubists” — Morris, Gallatin, Frelinghuysen and Shaw. And in the rotunda, “Paranirvana,” an inflated, large-scale reclining Buddha by artist Lewis deSoto, will be on view.

The museum eagerly anticipates the completion of its beautiful two-story addition — the Mary Ann Harn Cofrin Pavilion — slated for completion by December 2004. Also designed by Kha-Le Huu, the wing will incorporate gallery space for the museum’s growing contemporary sculpture collection, art classrooms and a café.

“We’re really pleased to have Kha-Le Huu come back and work on the new wing because we love what he did with the original building,” Nagy says. “It gives us confidence that everything will work together very well.”

For more information on the museum, Fish’s exhibit or upcoming shows, please call 352/392-9826, or visit the museum’s web site at www.harn.ufl.edu.