Seattle Art Museum Sets Bar High During Recession SEATTLE, WA (KPLU) - The Seattle Art Museum is aiming high with a major exhibition of Picasso masterpieces that come to Seattle this fall. It will be the first stop in the U.S. for the show and is a huge coup for a museum that's seen its share of challenges during the recession.

As for most cultural non-profits, the recession has meant declining attendance for the Seattle Art Museum. It has curtailed its hours, remaining closed on Tuesdays as well as Mondays.

Additionally, the museum lost a major revenue stream after the collapse of Washington Mutual Bank. When JP Morgan Chase took over, it opted not to take over WaMu's office space in the museum's expansion tower. That created a $60 millon hole in SAM's budget. Nordstrom recently agreed to lease most of the space, averting financial disaster for the museum. Despite all of that, curator Chiyo Ishikwa says she's been able to pursue and secure a landmark show with the upcoming Picasso exhibition.

"It's a challenging time, and yet we want to continue to be as ambitious as we can. And I think that's what our visitors want too."

Ishikawa says she traveled half a dozen times to Paris for meetings to get the show, which is about twice as large as anything she's ever curated in 20 years with SAM. She hopes it's a sign of more good things to come.

"You know when we built out new expansion, when we opened the Olympic Sculpture Park, we talked about it as a step forward not just for the museum, but for the city of Seattle. And we really want this to be the anchor and sign of our ambitions as an institution. And I think when we do a show like this and do it well, that makes lenders take notice."

Museum Director Derrick Cartwright says they're hoping the public will take notice too and line up at all hours to see the show - generating income not just for SAM but for other businesses downtown as well.

"And if that happens, we will be able to do a lot of other things for the people of Seattle, because we will have met our goals for this exhibition."

He says they're planning to re-open the museum on Tuesdays in October, when the show arrives from St Petersburg, Russia. Tickets will go on sale August 1st.

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