Museum dream becomes a reality.

This fall, the doors of the Rubin Museum of Art will open in New York's Chelsea district, offering visitors a year-round opportunity to explore the rich artistic heritage of the Himalayas and surrounding regions.

The new home to one of the most comprehensive collections of Himalayan art in the world will offer a wide array of exhibitions, cultural programs, and educational events, as well as a comfortable cafe and a well-stocked book and gift store.

The seed of RMA was planted 25 years ago when Shelley and Donald Rubin, drawn to the beauty and wonder of an unfamiliar art, purchased their first Himalayan painting.

As the couple's collection grew and their knowledge of Himalayan culture deepened, so too did their commitment to preserve, document, and share the art that so engages them. In 1998 the Rubins identified the space that resonated with their ideas.

Richard Blinder of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP was engaged to direct the transformation of an existing building at 150 West 17th Street, off Seventh Avenue, into a warm, inviting, and dramatic space.

A soaring six-story spiral marble staircase designed by Andree Putman immediately captures the visitor's imagination at the entrance to the 70,000 square foot museum and provides access to the tower that houses the Museum's permanent collection and changing exhibitions.

Renowned designer Milton Glaser is responsible for the Museum's bold graphics and, in conjunction with associate museum designers Tim Culbert and Celia Imrey, the interior spaces.

RMA will originate exhibitions drawn from the collection and augmented by loan objects that will focus on themes that develop fundamental ideas, highlight aesthetic qualities, develop histories and context, and explore curious avenues in Himalayan art that will delight and enlighten.

Exciting exhibitions organized elsewhere will also be brought to the RMA galleries, and the Museum will become part of the international network for exhibition exchange.

In recent years, the audience in the United States for art of the Himalayan region has grown dramatically.

Recently, RMA has works from the Collection on loan to three major Himalayan exhibitions--one organized by the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art another by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and still another by The Art Institute of Chicago.