What next for shuttered St. Paul museum?

Despite troubles that would prompt many museums to close permanently, trustees of the Minnesota Museum of American Art are trying to revive the dormant St. Paul institution, insisting that it has a vital place in the city's downtown.

They face considerable obstacles. Financial trouble forced the museum to close its galleries in January and dismiss most of the staff. With its collection in storage, the museum has no director, no building, little staff and inadequate finances in a struggling economy.

Still, some museum board members are now proposing to display its collection of American paintings and sculpture in the James J. Hill Reference Library, an elegant pink marble Beaux Arts landmark across Rice Park from Landmark Center, where the museum was located until deteriorating finances prompted it to move into the nearby Ramsey County Government Center in 2004.

"There has been some serious talk with [the library] and I think it's going to work out," said museum board member John Larkin, an art collector and retired orthopedic surgeon.

Minneapolis attorney David Kelly, the museum's board president, acknowledged the proposal but declined to comment. "We're still focused on finding a permanent home and building up our financial base," he said.

Library officials are cautious. "There have been some discussions, but that is just one of a number of possibilities the library is pursuing," said Roger Meyer, the library's interim chief executive.

The organizations are vastly different in status and finances. The library has a staff of about 25, annual operating costs of about $3.8 million and endowment that has dropped from about $20 million into the "mid-teens," Meyer said. By contrast, the museum has a staff of three, an endowment of $600,000 and annual operating costs of $300,000.

The library would expect the museum to bring its own money into any partnership. "They would have to come up with something to pave the way," Meyer said.

City support an option

The city of St. Paul is a possible source of funds through its STAR (Sales Tax Revitalization) program. The Hill building would require several million dollars of retrofitting including handicapped access, a freight elevator suitable for art, upgraded restrooms and climate control.

Joe Spencer, who oversees cultural policy for the city, said the museum believes it can raise $8 million to $10 million, but he thinks $3 million to $4 million is more realistic.

In the late 1980s, when its facilities were divided among four sites in downtown St. Paul, the museum tried to raise $25 million for a new building and endowment project. That was scaled back to $15 million, then $10.5 million. When it finally pulled the plug in 1992, the museum admitted it hadn't been able to raise more than $1.3 million in private funds.

"I'm confident the city would play a role," said Spencer. His office "continues to believe St. Paul needs an art museum," and the Hill library would be an attractive site, he said. The problem is timing. While the library is under no immediate pressure to merge with another institution, he said, the museum "needs to come up with a plan or solution relatively quickly, before people forget their potential, assets and history."

Founded in 1927 as the St. Paul School of Art, the museum gradually phased out its education program in favor of a collection whose centerpiece is an extensive bequest of art deco sculpture by St. Paul native Paul Manship. As its staff and budget shrank in the past decade, it began showcasing regional talents and trying to market itself as a hangout for Twin Cities artists.

"I was a huge fan of that model," said Spencer. "It was more likely to draw young audiences and has the potential to be a great institution that artists can embrace as their own."

For the museum to thrive, however, it needs more than a home, said Richard Slade, a former St. Paul bank president and past president of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. It also needs a "director with credibility," and "a visible sponsor" providing significant money, he said.

Neither is likely to materialize soon. The museum is not even looking for a director now.