Three Museum Exhibitions to Study and Savor

THE KATONAH MUSEUM OF ART PAYS TRIBUTE TO ITS ARCHITECT, EDWARD LARRABEE BARNES

©KATONAH MUSEUM OF ART/PHOTO MARGARET FOX

The late Edward Larrabee Barnes designed spare and elegant museums that accommodated both art and museumgoers with grace and ease. In a fast-changing, ever-more-corporate, and increasingly cutthroat world, he remained a gentleman architect, running his practice with high standards and a small staff.

Barnes fervently believed that architecture should be about the building, and not the architect who designed it. The conviction of his beliefs can be seen in the diverse body of work he produced, ranging from cultural, educational, and commercial buildings to private houses. But ultimately his vision is best seen in museums across America—in Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Katonah, New York, where he designed a genteel, light-filled building that feels almost domestic in its landscaped suburban setting.

Barnes and his architect wife Mary lived in the neighboring Westchester County town of Mount Kisco for many years. He designed the Katonah Museum of Art’s building twenty-five years ago when he was seventy-four. Mary Barnes was a longtime
trustee and advisor to the museum.

A Home for Art: Edward Larrabee Barnes and the KMA, which opens March 29 and runs through June 28, will look at the architect’s career with a special focus not just on the KMA, but also on the elegant modernist houses he designed in neighboring Westchester communities. At the time he designed the KMA, Barnes was widely quoted as saying “within the museum, the architect must not upstage the art.” This time, however, turnabout might well be fair play. katonahmuseum.org