The Corcoran Gallery of Art and Corcoran College of Art + Design, in Washington, D.C., announced today that the institution is in talks with the University of Maryland about a possible partnership.
The Corcoran also announced that works of modern and contemporary art from the East Building of the National Gallery of Art will go on view at the Corcoran while the National Gallery is under a three-year-long renovation.
Finally, the museum indicated that Peggy Loar, who resigned in October as director of the National Museum of Qatar, has been appointed the Corcoran’s consulting director, effective immediately. She replaces Fred Bollerer, who is retiring after three years in the position.
The nearly 150-year-old museum and school has been at the center of controversy since announcing in the summer of 2012 that it would consider selling its historic 1897 Beaux-Arts building and moving to a new location. The museum has explored sites in suburban Alexandria, Va., and other sites in D.C. and Maryland. The museum’s charter provides for “an institution in Washington City,” but the Corcoran has said that well in excess of $100 million is needed to renovate its current facility.
The board of the museum reaffirmed in today’s statement that it will remain in its current home, a landmark building on 17th Street.
