GOODBYE DALI Part 5: Expansion (#88): A. Reynolds Morse (Ren) finally agreed to hire me because fund raising for the Dali Museum was practically non-existent, other than pledges from the Morses and “The St. Petersburg Times” (“Times”). Ren was concerned about the financial condition of the Museum and had written, as Jim Healey, President of the Board of Trustees described it, “a rather disparing letter” to the “Times”. That had created confusion at a time when we needed the support of our local legislators for a $550,000 grant for the construction of a much needed expansion of the Museum.
In other words, Ren has created a bit of a mess again, and I was brought in to help. Shortly after I arrived, the Museum held an Opening Reception for a new exhibit of Dali Prints. Punch and cookies were served. By the time of the Opening Reception for the next exhibit, I had found a corporate sponsor for $5,000 and refreshments were up graded to wine and cheese. Attendance began to increase at the Opening Receptions, and so did potential donors. By 1988, a corporate sponsorship for a new exhibit was $10,000.
Another interesting story from the beginning was the first time I met Aaron Fodiman, the publisher of “Tampa Bay Magazine”. The magazine was only a little over a year old and Aaron seemed to have a mobile office in the trunk of his Lincoln. It was closing time and we were outside talking and looking at past issues. I remember mentioning that the majority of our visitors were from out of the area. This irritated Aaron and he said the magazine was for visitors and locals. I told him, “I’m sure it is Aaron, but the truth is, I don’t have any money for advertising.”
He asked if he could take a look at the Museum’s budget. We went inside, sat down in the library, and I gave him our 1987 budget. He looked it over for a few minutes and said, “I am going to give you ads.” So began a friendship of nearly 35 years, and it just got better when he married the lovely Margaret Word Burnside.
My primary responsibility was to raise the $1,000,000 need for the expansion of the Museum, the “New Wing” as it was then called. $160,000 has already been raised, including donations of $100,000 from the Morses and $50,000 from the “Times”. The Morses and the “Times” had also each pledged $50,000 to complete the fundraising capital campaign. I began by looking at the existing list of pledges and saw a familiar name.
Raymond James and Associates had pledged $3,000, but had only made a $1,000 payment. I had worked with Tom James at City Center, so I went to see him. Tom said he had a policy of not making a payment on a pledge until asked for it. We talked about the Museum. He said he was under the impression that Mr. Morse was a little difficult. I assured Tom that Ren was totally focused on the Museum and was working hard to insure its success.
I knew Tom collected Western Art, and told him that Ren also collected one Western artist, George Elbert Burr. That got his attention, and I suggested we set a meeting so he could get to know the Morses. Tom asked me if there was a naming opportunity with the New Wing. We talked about the first floor Community Room, which would be used for Print Exhibits, lectures, and classes. He like the idea, and when I left our meeting, instead of $2,000, I had a five year pledge for $100,000.
$100,000! I remember when I was on the Community Gift Committee for Bayfront Medical Center. I was assigned West Publishing Company and was to ask for a $100,000 gift. I had to practice in front of the mirror and say $100,000 over and over again without breaking into a smile. It just seemed like an astronomical sum. I only got $10,000 from West Publishing, but now I had gotten my first $100,000 gift.
I set a meeting with Tom and the Morses. Tom was impressed with Ren’s commitment, and Eleanor’s charm. Ren was delighted to find a local person with Tom’s intelligence and knowledge about art. Tom was asked to become a member of the Board of Trustees and accepted. Things were off to a good start.
Talking with the staff, I was surprised to learn that no one except Joan Kropf, our Curator and at that time Co-director, had seen the actual plans for the New Wing, so I set a meeting for everyone to have a look. The overall consensus was that the new wing wasn’t big enough. I met with Jonathan Toppe, our architect. He had been working under directions from Ren, that included a design feature that was costly and unnecessary. Together we figured out a major change that let us add 10’ to the length of the addition at no additional cost.
Time delay had brought the total cost of the addition to $1,000,000, but we were making progress. We got a huge boost when the State of Florida committed $350,000. I got a lot of the credit, because I had lobbied our legislators in Pinellas County and in Tallahassee, but Joan Kropf had done a fine job preparing our application for $550,000 and Secretary of State George Firestone had already put our request on the priority list by the time I was hired.
Jim Healey was able to secure an additional $75,000 Challenge Grant from the “Times”, which we were easily able to match. Construction started, other contributions were secured, and and our Board of Trustees was expanded.
One key feature of the addition was that the restroom core on the first floor was solid reinforced concrete, with a concrete vault on top at the second floor. We would store our prints in the vault, and we would move the paintings there in the event of a hurricane. The only problem was the largest vault door we could find was only 7’ tall and the Dali Master works were nearly 10 ‘ wide. I came up with a solution of an 11’ slot in the back of the vault, facing our maintenance area. The Master Works could be lifted by a hoist, rolled into the vault, and once they were all in the vault, a special order steel door would be bolted in place.
The Grand Opening of the Salvador Dali Community Center, featuring the Raymond James Community Room, the Albert Field Library, and “The St. Petersburg Times” Administrative Wing, was on January 21, 1989, just two years after I was hired.
When It had come time for the Morses to make their final $50,000 payment to the capital campaign, I told them I had several donations in the works and suggested they use their $50,000 for furnishings. Ren didn’t want the “Times to think he was reneging on his pledge, but Jim Healey convinced him that wouldn’t be a problem. I raised the last $50,000 and we then had the Morse’s $50,000 to use for furnishings
You would think that Ren would have been thrilled, but in addition to my divorce, he was now upset that I had an office. Since the opening of the Museum, the Morses each had a desk at the far end of the original library. When I was hired, Ren put Eleanor’s files in his desk, and her desk became mine. The plans that he approved, both the original (shown below) and the revised, showed desks for them in the new expanded library, and an office for the Curator and Director.
As soon as Ren saw my office, “The millions that we’ve given, we don’t have offices, but you have one!” I offered to give him my office and use the library, but that didn’t work either.
Sometimes you just can’t win.
