Taking a Step-by-Step Approach to Growth

Under the leadership of Jack Lane and then David Ross, it aggressively acquired works by artists like Piet Mondrian, René Magritte, Mark Rothko and Robert Rauschenberg to fill its new galleries. But the institution’s quick growth could not be sustained. When the dot-coms crashed in 2001, Mr. Ross left abruptly, a dozen staff members were laid off, and the museum faced a $2 million deficit.