Cuts force Walters to close Hackerman House

Hackerman House, the Walters Art Gallery's museum of Asian Art, has been closed temporarily to help meet demands of city budget cuts, Walters director Gary Vikan confirmed last night.

The house, a separate building attached to the gallery and originally built as a 19th-century townhouse, will be closed beginning today for up to eight weeks. It will reopen no later than Sept. 21 and perhaps sooner if a Walters fund appeal succeeds.

"I anticipate this is eight weeks, max," said Vikan. "I hope it will be open in a couple of weeks depending on what happens. We have written to members asking for help."

The city reduced its funding of the Walters for the current year by $281,000. The museum announced other austerity measures last week, including closing the entire gallery on Tuesdays in addition to Mondays, but not including the Hackerman closing. Vikan said that an ongoing review of the situation revealed that further cuts were necessary.

Two part-time guards have also been furloughed, Vikan said.

Hackerman House, which opened in 1991, exhibits about 1,000 pieces of Asian art, primarily Japanese and Chinese works from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Pub Date: 7/30/97