Andover residents have about 10 days left to visit the Addison Gallery of American Art on the campus of Phillips Academy. After its doors close on July 13, the museum will remain shuttered for nearly two years for a planned $30 million renovation and expansion.

If everything goes as scheduled, the museum — the first dedicated exclusively to American art — will reopen in the spring of 2010, said Brian Allen, museum director.

The Addison Gallery's collection of early 20th century model ships, normally displayed at the museum, already has set sail on a voyage to an off-site storage facility. The ships — and the museum's paintings, sculptures and other works — will be "docked" in storage for the duration of the construction, the first significant work since the museum opened in 1931.

"You have two weeks (left) to come and enjoy it. Everyone is welcome," said Allen of the gallery. "There are a lot of exciting things for people to see. We at the Addison take the responsibility we have very seriously to serve the people of Andover and surrounding towns. One of the regions great art museums is just a few minutes away (for local residents). We're sad that we're going to be closed for a year and half, but we know we'll be even better in a year and a half when we reopen."

A highlight of the Addison's last few weeks is a collection titled "Then and Now," which features great works from the museum's permanent collection, said Allen, including examples of painting, drawing, photography, sculpture and prints.

Two special spring exhibits also will be on view through July 13: a collection of landscape photographs by Texan Frank Gohlke and a survey of prints by Connecticut native Carroll Dunham.

The Addison has free admission and is open every day except Mondays.

"One of the great things about the Addison is that every individual that comes to the museum finds his or her own perfect place. The museum has so many spaces that are so elegant, and every visitor finds his or her own home. People often can't find that in a very big museum," said Allen.

The $30 million renovation and expansion project will provide enough storage space for the Addison to keep all of its art collection within the museum building, as well as return the galleries to the sizes intended when the building opened in 1931 through the gift of Thomas Cochran. Pieces of the galleries have been carved out over the years to create office space, for instance.

The museum will "look pristine" when it reopens, said Allen.

"We're being very careful to keep the intimate feel of the museum. The renovations will enhance the museum experience, and make the Addison more like it was originally conceived," he said.

Carefully, one by one, pieces from the museum's collection have been packed and organized in a secure, climate-controlled, off-site storage facility through the spring. The model ships were among the first to set sail, along with sculptures from the outdoor courtyard, which need to be removed with the help of a fork lift.

Office and gallery personnel also began moving themselves on June 25, packing up their offices and heading to another location on campus. Addison staffers are feeling as anyone would on moving day, said Allen, a little overwhelmed, sad and excited, all at the same time.

While the museum is closed for renovation, Addison staff will be working on shows planned for 2010 through 2012, he said, as well as fundraising. The Addison sends collections on three or four traveling exhibits each year, he said, which will not change while the museum is closed. They already have shows lined up for travel to other museums around the world.

"I'm breathless thinking about all the things we have to do in a year and a half," Allen said. "Everybody knows this is necessary, long overdue, and the museum when it reopens it will be as wonderful as ever."

IF YOU GO

The Addison Gallery of American Art

r Closing July 13 for a renovation project, slated to reopen in the spring of 2010

r Located at Phillips Academy, 180 Main St., Andover

r Parking is available across Chapel Avenue between the chapel and the Andover Inn

r Free to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.

r For more information, call 978-749-4015 or visit www.addisongallery.org

r Curious as to how more than 15,000 works of art are packed and stored? See photos and narratives by Addison staff at the museum's blog at www.addisongallery.blogspot.com

r Opened in 1931, the Addison Gallery houses a collection of American art that includes approximately 16,000 works by prominent American artists such as George Bellows, John Singleton Copley, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Georgia O'Keeffe and Jackson Pollock, as well as photographers Eadweard Muybridge, Walker Evans and Robert Frank.

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Addison's $30 million renovation and expansion

The Addison Gallery of American Art first opened its doors on the campus of Phillips Academy Andover in 1931. Since then the Addison's collection has increased from 600 to more than 16,000 objects, and full-time staff has grown from three to seventeen.

The museum, the Main Street home to priceless paintings, photographs and other works, will close July 13 for nearly two years of construction. The gallery plans a $30 million renovation and expansion, and is slated to reopen in the spring of 2010.

The project will provide enough storage space for the Addison to keep all of its art collection within the museum building. Currently, many works, including about 95 percent of the museum's sculptures, are stored at other locations.

The project will also create a new learning center, allowing even greater public access to the museum's art and its library. New office space, technology upgrades and an $8 million endowment are part of the project.

The new space will be created to the left of the entrance, in what is now a combination sculpture courtyard, entrance for handicapped people and loading dock

Over the years, the original gallery space has been "cannibalized" to create office and other space, said Brian Allen, the museum's director. While the renovation and expansion will not add any new exhibition space, the creation of office space will allow the galleries to return to the sizes intended when the building opened in 1931 through the gift of Thomas Cochran.

The Addison Gallery faces Main Street and is on the campus of Phillips Academy, across Chapel Avenue from the Andover Inn. Two of its most recognizable works are Winslow Homer's "Eight Bells" and Edward Hopper's "Manhattan Bridge Loop."

Currently, Andover teachers can request for their classes to have access to any of the Addison's works of art, regardless of whether they are being displayed at the time. When the project is complete, a large library and computer spaces will make the museum even more accessible to the public. The learning center will be open to all, including art scholars and Phillips Academy and Andover public school students. There will be room for two separate classes to study various works.

The Addison has never been closed this long. In 1993, it was empty for the summer while a heating and air conditioning system was installed.

— Neil Fater