Giving over three galleries to 18th century Europe was a good opportunity to showcase the strength of our collection in that area. The reinstallation is divided into four themes: The Grand Tour in the 18th Century, Court and Society in the 18th Century, Life, Style, and Collecting in the 18th Century, and Religious Art and the Church in the 18th Century.

The new reinstallation allows us to put 30% more of the modern art collection on view and really highlight the strength of the Museum's holdings. The galleries are arranged, for the first time, around particular themes and concepts.

The most significant change to the presentation of American paintings and sculpture is that we are able to devote a gallery to early American portraits. By bringing them together, we can appreciate the range of approaches employed as artists produced portraits that captured appearance and communicated a sense of identity.

For some years I have been thinking about programming one of our small Decorative Arts Galleries for changing, thematic installations from the collection, and have wanted to create an introductory gallery for visitors who may be unfamiliar with decorative arts and design. A new installation of chairs from the collection seemed a way to address those two goals.