She's had stellar success with that mission, Wadsworth officials learned, especially during her tenure as director and C.E.O. of the Des Moines Art Center from 1998 to 2005, where she formed partnerships with more than 100 community organizations and is credited with doubling museum attendance during her first two years.
The new location would allow double the museum's annual half-million visitors.
A $39 million expansion will double the museum's interior space to 102,000 square feet when it is completed in 2006.
The new structure, to be built next to the landmark building, right, will double the museum's space and triple its room for special exhibitions.
The renovation is part of a $43 million capital campaign to double the museum's exhibition space, expand the permanent collection, enhance education programs and increase the endowment.
Mr. Meier, however, was not considered for the commission to more than double the museum's space and add a central piazza, restaurant, shop and expanded arts campus.
The new Modern, by Yoshio Taniguchi, a Japanese architect who has never before designed a building outside Japan, will more than double the museum's gallery space and alter its configuration, lengthen the garden, add an atrium and highlight contemporary art.
When an admission charge was proposed to pay for capital improvements, voters in both the city and county voted to double their museum tax -- a component of property taxes -- to keep the free admission policy, said Mr. Hoessel.
The 1984 renovation by Cesar Pelli, which doubled the museum's space.
