By now the doors will have closed on the N.C. Museum of Art's popular "Rembrandt in America" exhibit. Museum staff will be toting up the visitor count after a final weekend of extended viewing hours, and packing up the 50 or so artworks by the Dutch master painter or formerly attributed to him. The special exhibit, for which tens of thousands of people paid an admission charge at the normally free museum, moves on to Cleveland and then Minneapolis.
What remains, however, is well worth a visit, or a return visit.
Less than two years ago the public museum opened its impressive West Building, which now houses the permanent collection. That light-filled structure, designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners, is a welcoming place to view the state's significant collection of art - and to spend an afternoon. The art and the artful building combine for a special attraction, one that Raleigh is fortunate to have, whether or not a blockbuster show is hanging around.
