Art has a home at SUNY New Paltz

Students at the State University of New Paltz, don't have to rely just on textbooks or slides to understand the essence of a painting.

The 17,000-square-foot Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, which encompasses the renovated former College Art Gallery founded in 1964, serves as an additional teaching tool for SUNY's professors and offers the community more exposure to visual art.

The nearly $3 million project began when philanthropist, businessman and gallery owner Samuel Dorsky gave a large donation to Museum Director Neil Trager in 1993 to build a museum. Ground was broken in 1998; the museum was completed in the fall of 2001.

''He became friends with artists and traveled the world to see art and was happy to share his knowledge and resources,'' Trager said.

''He obviously would have been extremely proud. Frankly, the museum is beautiful. We're very proud of the museum and very happy with the plan for the future,'' said David Dorsky, whose siblings Noah and Karen continue to run The Dorsky Foundation since their father's death in 1994.

Designed by architect David Smith, the museum consists of 9,000 square feet of gallery space, a print study and seminar room.

''It looks and feels like a major museum,'' Trager said. ''(Smith) created gallery spaces which are extremely friendly to different kinds of artwork. We have 4,000-year-old art to things that were made yesterday and it's totally accommodating to all of it.''

The museum's permanent collection of 3,500 pieces spans almost 4,000 years. Areas of specialization include 20th-century prints and paintings, decorative art, photographs, Asian art, and pre-Columbian artifacts. The museum also offers tours, workshops and special programs.