Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Awkward Spot, Laying Off While Working with Renzo Piano on Expansion Plans

And now on to Boston, where we read about yet another museum facing cutbacks and tightening of belts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which was recently forced to lay off almost ten percent of its staff and has before it a gigantic cut in their annual endowment. What makes this a little awkward is that the museum is simultaneously working with Renzo Piano to help expand their building. And as we all know, starchitects rarely work cheap and the bill for Piano’s expansion is estimated at around $100 million, which the museum is currently trying to raise funds for.