Letter From The Director

Dear Friends,

It’s yours!

Everything has changed.  There are more pictures of more people in more galleries, many more works of art to enjoy and learn about, and much more timely information about programs and events in which you might wish to take part; in a nutshell, there is much more about you and much more for you.  But please be aware that what you will encounter in this dynamic new website is a work in progress, drawing on the energies and skills of many dedicated Walters staff, but also, on you. We want you, in effect, to be “co-owners” of this website with us, and toward that end, we have placed at the top of the home page a point of entry for you to contact us, with your thoughts on how we may together make this a better, more engaging and useful vehicle for realizing our mission to “bring art and people together for enjoyment, discovery, and learning.”

It’s free! 
 
How appropriate, that just as our great collection is being made available worldwide to cyber visitors at no charge, our great collection is being made available to in-person visitors at no charge.  The official launch of our website, October 1st, is the very day we eliminate our general admission fee.

It’s timely!

This website is truly dynamic, with changes you will recognize every day – note, for example, the “Art Fact of the Day” on the home page.  The great advantage of this is a closer connection between the museum and those, near and far, who enjoy it, and a much more timely and lively “cyber dialogue.”  For example, much in the news these days, from Los Angeles to New York, are troubling issues surrounding antiquities acquisition, repatriation of cultural property, and the ethics of collecting.  In a move to greater timeliness and transparency in all we do, we have included in this website our recently revised Acquisitions Policy, so all can know what guides Walters’s curators in adding works to our collection – and can comment.

So, let me hear from you!

Yours sincerely,

Gary Vikan
Director