The Lunder Wing was designed by architect Frederick Fisher of Los Angeles, one of the world's leading designers of museum space. The $1.3-million addition is used for the exhibition of some 200 American works from the permanent collection. Those pieces, including the expanded John Marin Collection, will trace the development of art in this country from the middle of the 18th century through the early 20th century. The wing was made possible by a challenge grant made to Colby in 1995 by Peter and Paula Lunder of Waterville. Mrs. Lunder is a trustee of the college and Mr. Lunder (a 1956 Colby graduate) is a lifetime overseer. Both received honorary degrees from Colby in 1998. The Lunders serve on the museum's board of governors and have taken an active role in the museum's development. They were instrumental in bringing to Colby the White House Crafts exhibition in 1997 and in arranging an exhibit of American modern and abstract art from the National Museum of American Art in 2000.

"Thanks to the Lunders' generosity, important works of art, some of which we have had to keep largely in storage, now will be on view in these handsome new galleries," said Colby President William R. Cotter, when the addition was dedicated. "By providing more museum space for exhibits, the Lunders have given a gift to the people of Maine and to art lovers who visit our state as well. We are grateful for all they have done to make Colby's one of the best college museums in the nation."

The elegant brick addition has a slate roof and is architecturally consistent with other campus buildings, which are predominately in the Neo-Georgian style. "We imagined it as a house," said architect Fisher, "because most of this art was created for domestic environments." The domestic scale of the galleries, with their richly colored walls, allude to the private homes where the art originally was shown.

Fisher received international recognition in 1997 when New York's P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, which he redesigned, reopened following a multi-million-dollar renovation. The center, which merged with the Museum of Modern Art, provides one of the world's largest galleries devoted to contemporary art. Fisher received further acclaim for a major renovation of the municipal art museum in Berlin.