WINONA, Minn. — Works by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and other world-renowned artists will hang permanently in Winona when the Minnesota Marine Art Museum adds a 6,850-square-foot expansion.

Now, many of the museum’s priceless works from the prized Burrichter/Kierlin Collection end up in storage to make room for new exhibits. But the new 3,200-square-foot gallery will allow the museum to showcase full-time “40 best of the best,” said Jon Swanson, museum curator of collections and exhibitions.

Jon Swanson, curator of collections and exhibitions at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, stands near the west end of the museum Tuesday, where landscaping work continues to clear a parking lot for the 6,850 square-foot museum expansion, scheduled to be completed in May 2009. (Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News)

“This is really good news,” he said. “You’ll get to see more art.”

The addition also includes a 1,000-square-foot multi-purpose area and 1,000 square feet of new storage. Swanson says the hope is to have the new gallery open in May to coincide with the busier tourist season.

“The vision of an exciting world-class art institution that would attract local and regional families and tourists, artists and scholars from around the world is well on its way to realization,” said museum board chairwoman Rachelle Schultz.

The museum’s planners opened the 16,000-square foot facility in July 2006 with the intention of expanding. In January 2007, the museum bought a 1.8-acre parcel from the Winona Port Authority for $107,400.

Plans for locating the historical dredging boat William A. Thompson adjacent to the museum are continuing to progress, Swanson said.

The museum currently has three galleries, each 2,000 square feet. The new addition is being built on the west end of the museum. A driveway and 45 to 50 parking spots also are being added.

The multipurpose room will be used for business meetings, educational programming, lectures, school groups and other events. “We want to make this as universal as possible,” Swanson said.

The additional space will allow kids to make art in a kid-friendly environment. “Several million dollars of art, kids and magic markers don’t mix,” he said.

The “40 best of the best” gallery will be a mix of paintings from impressionist artists like Monet and Renoir, Hudson River School artists and recently acquired pieces.

The new addition is getting its own HVAC system to ensure the paintings are in the perfect environment — 68 degrees with 50 percent humidity.

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