The Art and Science Gale and Bob Lawrence New Bruce Visionaries

Bob and Gale Lawrence have brought their passions for both science and art to the Bruce Museum and to realizing its future. Photo credit – Bruce Museum.

Greenwich Sentinel | By Anne W. Semmes

Bob and Gale Lawrence are champions of the New Bruce. With Bob’s PhD in Science and Gale’s Masters in Art Education, the two longtime Greenwich civic leaders constitute, in Bob’s words, “a renaissance da Vincian couple.” The passions they share are for both art and science – what Bob describes as “a magical interface that is at the heart of what the Bruce Museum’s transformative renovation and expansion project is all about.”

So, no surprise Gale would serve as a Bruce Docent early on, and on Committees of Honor funding exhibitions and lecture series, and Bob would engage in the Bruce Science Committee, as Chair, then Board Chairman during the genesis of the New Bruce.

“The more we engaged in the Bruce,” says Bob, “the more we realized there were significant imbalances in the Museum’s layout and design. For example, we had no permanent gallery to display the Museum’s fabulous art collection and a very small space for temporary science exhibitions, plus only one classroom to serve both art and science education.”

“The good news,” Bob continues, “was that the Museum staff really excelled at developing programs and exhibitions that addressed timely and topical issues, such as climate change and the role of women in art, which is the first part of the Museum’s mission—‘to promote the understanding and appreciation of Art and Science.’”

“The fact that enhanced programming appeals to people across our community of all ages and abilities, including those with special needs,” adds Gale, “speaks directly to the second part of our mission—‘to enrich the lives of all people.’”

It was during 2010-11 that the two began to see, says Bob, “vigorous discussions of a Museum expansion emerge from the Board of Trustees, longtime patrons, and staff.” A series of action steps followed to build a solid foundation of essential information to define and design a “New Bruce.” That foundation included a Long Range Strategic Plan compiled with help from the Harvard Business School Community Partners, Board Self-assessment (Board Source), and a Board-driven “deep-dive” into exploring synergies offered by the Museum’s dual focus on art and science. Thus was born the “da Vinci Project,” so named by Bob, along with a comprehensive Feasibility Study for the necessary Capital Campaign.

By early 2013, the Board and Executive Director Peter C. Sutton decided to proceed with the New Bruce initiative and selected Board member Bob Lawrence and Bob Goergen as Co-Chairs of an Architectural Selection/Building Committee. It was, says Bob, “Huge commitment; game-on!”

To guide the Museum in its search for the architectural firm that would best conceptualize that New Bruce, the Board engaged Reed Kroloff, former Editor of Architecture magazine, and at the time Director of Cranbrook Academy.

“From Kroloff’s list of 30 top firms with experience in museum design, we narrowed the list over five months to three outstanding firms to participate in a paid competition,” Bob recalls. “By November we had a clear winner, the New Orleans firm EskewDumezRipple (EDR), which had produced a stunning design with exceptional programming functionality and practicality. As Steve Dumez, EDR Principal and Director of Design, said at the time, ‘Our interest in this expansion for the Bruce Museum is drawn from a longstanding belief that art and architecture play an essential role in enriching the lives of those who experience them.’”

The EDR team included Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects and M. Goodwin Museum Planning, Inc., leaders in their respective fields. Soon after their notification as winners of the competition, Reed Hilderbrand would be named the ASLA Landscape Architecture Firm of the Year, and EDR would receive the American Institute of Architecture Firm of the Year Award.

In mid-2014, Bob was elected Chairman of the Board, succeeding his Bruce mentor Patricia Chadwick.

“My priority was clear – an affirmative Board vote to approve the plan to create the New Bruce. This was accomplished October 15, 2014 at a Board Retreat, officially launching the design and construction process and establishing The New Bruce Capital Campaign. In my judgement, this is the most important strategic decision in the 100-plus-year history of the Bruce Museum.”

For the past five years the Museum has progressed through all architectural phases, including Value Engineering, Town reviews and approvals, and are finalizing construction drawings and Town permitting, in collaboration with Andy Fox of Stone Harbor Land Co. & Project Advisors who serves as the Museum’s Owner’s Rep – with the contractors being the Turner Construction Company.

Of the Museum’s plans for the new art wing, Gale is “delighted” she says, “to see that we will, at last, have permanent galleries for viewing the Bruce art collection. In fact, five permanent galleries plus a vastly expanded education suite! Just think of the art history experience that offers.” She points to the Museum’s new microsite about the expansion project, NewBruce.org, that features a virtual tour of the building design, floor plans, and a link for those wishing to make a much-needed contribution to help the Campaign for the New Bruce complete its fundraising goals.

“For over 100 years the Bruce has been a beacon of culture for our community, enriching life through art and science,” says Bob. “The stunning New Bruce creates a cutting-edge museum experience and magnetic destination that strongly connects our tradition and past to a vision of the future.”

True to form, this da Vincian couple of Gale and Bob Lawrence view the New Bruce, says Bob, “as a Renaissance Museum for the 21st century, right in the heart of Greenwich.

First Selectman Peter Tesei on ‘the Treasure of the Bruce’, Greenwich Sentinel | By Anne W. Semmes

First Selectman Peter J. Tesei has presided over the Town of Greenwich, its governing, its 62,000 residents, and its special partnership with of the Bruce Museum and its collection for the past 12 years. 

As a fifth generation resident, Tesei has deep roots in Greenwich – he knows the historic imprint that generous individuals have had on the Town. “It was Robert Bruce who left his mansion to the Town,” he tells, “Also, Robert Bruce and his sister built the old Town Hall, on Greenwich Avenue, which now houses the Greenwich Arts Council and other nonprofit groups.”

Looking back on that Gilded Age, Tesei sees how “very successful affluent residents making gifts to the Town were transforming it from a more rural, agricultural community to a suburban community.” Today, he cites William L. Richter, with his $15 million donation to the soon-to-be New Bruce, as a “twenty-first century Robert Bruce.” 

It was Tesei who introduced Richter to the Bruce Museum and to Peter C. Sutton, the longtime Executive Director now serving as Director Emeritus. “In this role as the Town’s chief elected official,” Tesei says, “you have to be a champion for all of its people and for its institutions.” So, when the call came from resident Richter, with his desire to gift the Town, Tesei saw a “natural synergy in timing” with the expansion plans of the Bruce. 

The Bruce receives some 10 to 15 percent of its annual budget from the Town. Tesei lists the Town’s contributions for the fiscal year 2019-2020 as $875,000 for ongoing operations and $824,000 for capital improvements to the existing Museum building.”

“The expansion of the Bruce with its exquisite collection,” says Tesei, “is further reinforcing Greenwich as a world-class community, a global destination. Being in close proximity to our Harbor and Downtown, and located within Bruce Park and near to Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, which has become the event venue for our town, the New Bruce is an attraction that will spur cultural enrichment and economic activity.” 

“The proposed design lends itself to the topography of the site. It incorporates the natural elements and provides natural light into the building. There’s a certain elegance to it, and it’s inviting because it has this public space that you can come into, where we can say ‘let’s go look at this wonderful program or exhibition and then let’s go have a cup of coffee.’”

“It’s very beneficial as we look to attract people to our Town that this amenity is here for our children – not every child has the opportunity to go into New York to the wonderful institutions that are there. And this treasure of the Bruce affords them that ability through their schools or through their parents being able to take them because it’s very accessible.”

Tesei sees the Bruce Museum as providing, “a unique and special way to support this cultural enrichment. So, Bill Richter has really set the standard that others, I believe, are going to follow because they see the same value that this Museum has for the broader community. It’s really a tremendous legacy for those who have the ability to contribute to make the New Bruce a reality.”