Question: What do you do with an entire museum when it closes?

        Answer: You move it to another museum.

        The Qing dynasty Chinese porcelains. The 17th- and 18th-century watches. The French Renaissance Limoges enamels and European paintings. Even the furniture.

Portrait of Francois de Cleves (mid-16th century) is among the works now at the CAM.

        Saturday, part of the collection of the Taft Museum of Art will be unveiled at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Museum Within A Museum: Treasures from the Taft at the Cincinnati Art Museum will be on view through February 2003 while the Taft undergoes an $18 million renovation and expansion.

        “It's like walking into a miniature Taft museum,” says preparator Farron Allen. “It's surreal. The same things are set up exactly the same way. It's deja vu all over again.”

        The walls of the main gallery have been painted to match the walls of the Taft, and glass display cases called vitrines and fine furniture display cases, along with the music room rug, have been brought over from the Taft to provide an authentic experience.

        The portraits of Charles P. and Anna Sinton Taft hold the dominant position in the room now hemmed in a bit by large decorative commodes, or cabinets. There are 96 pieces from the Taft collection at the CAM.

        “There is a broad enough cross-section for people to be able to get a wonderful taste of the Taft collection,” says CAM Deputy Director Stephen Bonadies. “And seeing these pieces with different lighting and in a different context adds something extra to the experience.”

James A. McNeil Whistler¹s At the Piano (1858-1859) from the Taft collection is part of the exhibit.

        The Taft collection will be on view in the former Medieval Gallery, as well as other locations throughout the museum.

        Outside the room in a vestibule leading into the gallery, a historical perspective of the 1820 Baum-Longworth-Taft House with renderings of the expanded facility and possibly, as time goes by, photos from the Taft construction/renovation will be on display.

        “One of the things we tried to do with the installation was suggest more of a domestic setting,” says Mr. Bonadies. “Everything is to scale to convey how the objects relate to the Taft museum and the house they were originally collected for.”

        The idea for the exhibition was the joint inspiration of Phillip C. Long, director of the Taft, and Timothy Rub, director of the CAM. The staff of the two museums collaborated on the layout of the installation and the educational programs that will be offered to complement the showing. In addition to docent-led tours, there will be extended labeling and large print gallery guides available.

        “The project was a great opportunity for the docents from the two museums to work together,” says Betsy Wieseman, curator of European painting and sculpture for CAM. “They brainstormed 20 connections between the two collections.”

        “I think the opportunity for the Taft objects to be shown at the CAM is a wonderful opportunity for the community, as well as the docents,” says Linda Fath, a docent for both museums.

        “. . . Making the connections between the collections has been interesting and enlightening. For example, the Taft Rousseau painting is of the same pond in Fontainebleau as the CAM's Summer Sunset by Rousseau at a different time of day. There are many other relevancies we look forward to sharing with the public in the months ahead.”

        This is the second time the Taft collection has been lent to the CAM. The first time was in 1911.

        “Historically, these two esteemed institutions have been tied together for over 100 years,” says Mr. Long. “Anna Taft's father, David Sinton, was a founder of the CAM and one of the five leading citizens who signed the museum's articles of incorporation in 1881.”

        When the Tafts decided to bequeath their house and collection to the city of Cincinnati, they stated in their deed of gift in 1927 that they did not wish their collection to rival the CAM's, but rather act as an adjunct. This latest collaboration between the two museums seems to underline the request.

        “The whole project keeps a visible presence of the Taft while it is closed for construction,” Mr. Bonadies says. “This will be their home away from home.”

If you go

        What: Museum Within a Museum: Treasures from the Taft at the Cincinnati Art Museum

        When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday, through February 2003
        Where: Cincinnati Art Museum
        Admission: $5, $4 seniors and college students, free to children 17 and under. Free to all on Saturdays.
        Information: 721-2787
        Special event: Cincinnati Art Museum and the Taft Museum of Art will hold a free Community Day from 1-4 p.m. Saturday to mark the opening of Museum Within a Museum: Treasures from the Taft at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Also: Performances by the Forget-Me-Not Historical Dance Company will re-create dances from the past, docents will lead tours and a variety of hands-on activities for children and adults will be available.
        Gallery talks:
        • At 3 p.m. Saturday Phillip C. Long, director of the Taft, will give a lecture on “The Tafts and Their Legacy.”
        • ""A Gift to the City: An Overview of the Taft Museum of Art's Collection” at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 by David Johnson, deputy director of collections and education/chief curator Taft Museum of Art.
        • 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 “Collections and Connections: Drawing Parallels Between the Taft and Cincinnati Art Museum” by Betsy Weiseman, CAM curator of European painting and sculpture.

       Contact Marilyn Bauer at 768-8521; fax: 768-8330; e-mail mbauer@enquirer.com.

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