Fort Worth, TX, April 20, 2001—The Amon Carter Museum, which holds one of the nation's finest collections of American art, announced Friday that it has raised $37.5 million or 96 percent of its $39 million goal for funding its expansion. The museum has received gifts from foundations, businesses and individuals.

Closed since August 1999, the Carter will reopen Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001, in time to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Designed by Philip Johnson/Alan Ritchie Architects, the new building will have triple the amount of gallery space and greatly enhanced facilities for education, research, membership, and other programs and activities. As always, the Carter will not charge an admission fee. The museum is located at 3501 Camp Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth's Cultural District.

"Although the museum is a memorial to Dad [Amon G. Carter Sr.] and my brother [Amon G. Carter Jr.], Dad's will made the founding of the museum for the people of Fort Worth his first priority," said Ruth Carter Stevenson, chairman of the board of trustees of the Carter. "We want to give everyone the opportunity to share his vision by being a part of our fundraising campaign."

All donors will be recognized in the museum's Book of Honor. All gifts of $5,000 or more will be recognized on a specially designed Wall of Honor.

To help build awareness of the expansion, the museum will conduct an advertising campaign with the theme An American Masterpiece. Filled with American Masterpieces. A color poster describing the expansion will be mailed to individuals and organizations that have indicated an interest in the arts. For information about the expansion campaign, call the development office at 817.738.1933.

"Up until now, we have only been able to display small portions of the collection due to lack of space," said Rick Stewart, the Carter's director. "We are pleased that we will finally have the room to properly display the breadth of this wonderful collection."

The Amon Carter Museum, which opened in 1961, was established through the generosity of Amon G. Carter Sr. (1879-1955), to house his collection of approximately 400 works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. The collection has since grown to almost 250,000 works of American art, including masterworks in painting, sculpture, photography and works on paper by leading figures of the 19th and 20th centuries.