Fogg May Get Added Space

the building undergoes a thorough renovation.

He stressed that any area in the Fogg designated to display Busch-Reisinger art would indicate that the art is part of the Busch collection and not part of the 100,000 pieces owned by the Fogg. The Busch collection would "keep its own identity," Bowron said.

It would be premature to suggest a cost for the project, said Bowron, who took over as director of the museums this fall. But another official, who asked not to be named, indicated that the musuem would attempt to raise more than $10 million.

The project comes less than one year after the completion of the Arthur M. Sackler Museum for which Harvard raised about $20 million.

Too Expensive

The Busch-Reisinger, founded in 1903 and later supported by prominent benefactors including Aldophus Busch of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. and his son-in-law, Hugo Reisinger, is considered the foremost museum of German art on this continent. The Gothic building, which boost a Flentrop organ and original arches, houses works by Walter Gropius and Lyonel Feininger as well as Renaissance and Medieval art.

Despite the museum's prominence, the University cannot afford to maintain and project three separate museums to house valuable and delicate art, officials said this past week. President Derek C. Bok, alumni and museum officials have discussed ways to alleviate the burden of the Busch for more than ten years.

Renovations to modernize the Kirkland St. musuem would cost far more than the University is willing to spend, especially since renovations to the Fogg and the long-term financial health of the whole museum system would be somewhat jeopardized by such a project, said one high-ranking administrator who asked not to be identified by name.

Aside from financial and environmental considerations, "it makes good sense that the preeminent collection of the Busch-Reisinger be more closely associated with European art in the Fogg," said Peter Nesbit, curator of the Busch-Reisinger.

Alumni Sensitivities

Plans for the Busch and the Fogg have remained confidential for many years since many donors over the past 75 years have contributed to the Busch with the understanding that it was and would continue to be the outstanding German art museum in this country, according to an alumnus who has been consulted on the future of the Busch.

The alumnus, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the removal of what he called the Busch's main art collection and the installment of plastic casts, most of which are now in storage, have upset some alumni. Plastic casts are reproductions of three-dimensional art which have scholarly but little market value.

Despite these concerns, several alumni connected with the art museums contacted by The Crimson over the past week said they recognized the need to move some of the Busch collection to the Fogg. They said they had been assured that the collection would not be relegated to storage or to a remote corner of the Quincy St. museum.

"The Busch-Reisinger will continue to exist as an operating entity," said Nesbit. He said that the Busch collection even if it's displayed in the Fogg.

"Nobody wanted to see the Busch-Reisigner collection stored in the basement of the Fogg. That was properly understood by Derek [Bok]. The integrity of the gifts will be maintained," said Desmond G. Fitzgerald '65, a member of the Board of Overseers visiting committee group which consults on the art museums.

It remains unclear what will happen to the Busch-Reisinger building itself, however. The Center for European Studies held a party earlier this summer to celebrate its imminent move into the Busch, where new offices are to be set aside for the center. There is already some affiliates of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

It could not be determined if the proportion of floor space to office space in the Busch would be decreased under the plan, but one administrator did not rule that out. "It's under discussion," said the official, who asked for anonymity. Harvard has long been pressed for adequate office space for faculty members.

Peter Walsh, public relations director for the University Art Museums, said last week that no plan included provisions to increase the proportion of office space.

Because of confusion over the future of display space in the Busch, it could also not be determined yesterday if any addition to the Fogg museum would mean a net increase in the total art viewing space available at Harvard.