Skip navigation
sponsored by 

Fall into the ... art museum?

Gap founder plans to build facility at foot of Golden Gate Bridge

  Top slideshows
Image: The Empire State Building at night
Getty Images
  The Big Apple
Long referred to as the center of American business, New York is a melting pot of cultures and landscapes. Take a visual tour of some of the Big Apple’s most famous attractions.
Image: Waimea Canyon, Kauai
Lonely Planet Images
  Hawaiian paradise
The Hawaiian Islands are the perfect vacation destination for travelers of all types.
Image: Mount Rainier National Park
Lonely Planet Images
  National spectacles
Nearly 400 national parks can be found all across America, and feature breathtaking vistas, rock formations millions of years old, and more.
updated 1:43 p.m. ET Aug. 8, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO - The founder of Gap Inc. plans to build a vast museum near the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge to house his collection of contemporary art, much of which has remained hidden from public view.

Donald Fisher, 78, said Wednesday that he hopes to erect the 100,000-square-foot museum in the Presidio, the one-time military base turned national park overlooking the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.

The collection of more than 1,000 pieces amassed by Fisher and his wife, Doris, includes work by such contemporary stalwarts as Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein and Gerhard Richter. Experts believe the collection could fetch more than $1 billion in today's buoyant art market.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

"I'm concerned about what happens to the collection," Fisher said. "I don't want to turn around and sell it, and I don't want it to be sold when I pass away. I'd like it to be seen."

Most of the work is currently in the Fishers' homes and in two galleries at the San Francisco headquarters of Gap, the retail giant the couple founded in 1969.

Fisher hopes to open the museum in three years. It first must undergo an environmental review and receive approval from the park's board before going forward.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Resource guide