In “Museum reimagines the big picture” (Jan. 3), two comments stand out to me as a Portland Museum of Art member.

• The PMA’s visionary director, Mark Bessire, says: “We’re trying to respond to what the public needs and wants. Twenty-first century museums must be much more attuned to the interests of our visitors.”

• Whitney Museum director Adam Weinberg cautions: “If you look at designing a building for generating revenue, you will come up with a good party place but a terrible museum.”

Earlier in the article, Bessire says: “Our building was meant to host art, not events. We need more public space.”

I hope Bessire and the PMA board will heed the wisdom of P.T. Barnum, who knew how to attract a crowd: “Money is in some respects life’s fire: It is a very excellent servant, but a terrible master.”

Museums are meant “to host art,” aren’t they? Hosting events should be secondary, despite their lucrative potential.

As a Kennebunkport Historical Society board member, I understand why “museum leaders say they need to generate more revenue through earned income” instead of tapping into endowments. But that goal should not be at the expense of a quality museum experience.

If the PMA’s admirable ambition to showcase more art, as well as host revenue-generating events, morphs into an approach to museum-going that abets the dumbing-down of 21st-century culture to make a buck, the PMA will lose its dignity and worth as a classical institution.

I recognize the enormous fiscal challenges facing Mr. Bessire and his board; however, I’d be saddened if the PMA compromises itself by mistakenly giving the public what the PMA thinks they want.

At the PMA, I’m transported out of myself by my surroundings and the art. I do not want changes that could make me think I’m at the Maine Mall or on Commercial Street.

Albert H. Black

Kennebunk

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