The mummy safely in its spot, Winters makes haste to the Old Masters galleries to hear whether a 17th-century clock there is chiming as it should. Tom Bamberger, adjunct curator for photography, is placid-cool as he strolls around his gallery with a paintbrush drenched in gray paint, daubing. The curator in charge of decorative arts is reupholstering a chair. Outside, it is a beautiful day to wash windows and lay sod. Workers suspended from pulleys work their ways up and down the outside wall of glass in the old building facing the lake.
Drivers stop their cars to watch, and passers-by linger.
It's supposed to have moving wings. He has parked his car to gawk. Back in the museum's offices, the phones are buzzing. The art museum has sold 2,000 new memberships in the past six weeks. Calls are still coming in.