The Claremont Museum of Art, in Claremont, CA, announced yesterday that it is putting its entire, permanent collection into storage. The museum could not afford to pay its rent. In fact, it still owes three months of back rent (amounting to $15,000) to its landlord, Jerry Tessier. "It is such a grave disappointment," said former Mayor Ellen Taylor, who was on the museum's fundraising committee.
The Museum will go virtual, exhibiting its collection online at its website. It will become a "museum without walls," said founding president Marguerite McIntosh. She estimated that within five years, when the country starts to come out of its recession, the museum might be able to reopen.
The decision to close the Claremont was made after weeks of desperate fundraising attempts. A direct mail solicitation to museum members raised $5,000, and an art book sale over the weekend raised another $3,500. The museum also held a phone campaign to raise money for 2010, which brought in pledges for $26,555 (these pledges will now not be collected). But the money was raised was only enough to keep the museum operating another six weeks. "These are all nice big figures, but they were not enough," explained Taylor. A year's budget for the Claremont Museum, even if the museum only employed one full-time staff member, would come to about $213,000.
There is still a fundraising project underway to raise money by selling 15 ceramic Torso sculptures, cast from Harrison McIntosh's original 1940s mold. These are selling for $5,000.
The Claremont has not announced where it is going to store its collection. But, given that the museum is going through a fiscal crisis, it might want to consider one of Extra Space's many facilities in Claremont, which offer the first month of rent free. It is important that art be stored in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment. Most Extra Space facilities also offer affordable insurance policies that can be included in the rental agreement, and a state-of-the-art security system including video cameras and an electronic gate system which can only be opened by a security code (which is individual to each tenant).