Art After Hours

In an atmosphere dominated by the grotesque in architecture, students not familiar with the University's indoor treasures might well graduate with a stunted impression of Cambridge's artistic side. Those whose afternoons are filled with trips to laboratories, athletic fields and other activities find such museums as Fogg closed by the end of their daily routine.

Fogg is not only the home of Fine Arts 13; it also has an excellent collection of works ranging from Praxiteles to Picasso, in addition to varied special exhibits. Appealing to long hairs as well as to crew cuts, Fogg should be accessible to all students as well as to an art circle stretching all the way to Wellesley. Yet its 5 p.m. closing hour forces many to settle for a half hour Cook's tour, if that.

The needs of art students alone would warrant an extension of hours to offer at least one night a week or Sunday afternoon for browsing. But at present, Fogg is hampered by a starvation budget. Essentially self-supporting, it depends on endowments and contributions to meet expenses, and any major addition of hours would bankrupt many other museum activities.

Until sufficient funds are available, Fogg should, nonetheless, give all students a chance for a leisurely stroll by staying open one or two Sundays or evenings each month; exhibits remain for at least this period. The price of such an extension would be small balanced against the advantage of longer hours for the University's nocturnal population.