After several months of rumor and speculation, the Wynn Collection finally closed in February 2006. The gallery had featured art from Steve and Elaine Wynn's renowned private collection, including works such as Picasso's "Le Rêve" ("The Dream" -- the original name for the resort itself and the title chosen for their Cirque du Soleil-esque production show), a Rembrandt self-portrait from 1634, plus the only painting by Johannes Vermeer in private hands.
As to why the attraction closed, the resort isn't saying. From newspaper reports we read after the property opened, the gallery appeared to be relatively successful, at least at first, drawing up to 400 visitors a day on weekends and 200-300 on weekdays. We didn’t get the chance to visit ourselves, but we read subsequent reports from others that indicated these attendance figures were not sustained. Of the visitors the gallery did attract, it was estimated that more than half were locals, who were entitled to a 50% discount on the $10 admission charge. This may be another reason for the enterprise's demise: Perhaps the gallery was primarily attracting people who didn't spend enough money elsewhere in the resort when they visited, instead of being a perk for fee-paying guests. Nestled among the hotel's high-end retail outlets, it was probably decided that this premium floor space simply wasn't paying its way as the revenue earner it should've been. Sure enough, when the closure was first announced, it was stated that the space would be given over to the world's first Rolex-branded store (though that hasn't transpired).
While a spokeswoman from the property was unable to confirm what the future has in store for the space formerly occupied by the gallery, she was able to explain what happened to the collection itself. When he confirmed the gallery was to close, Steve Wynn suggested that the art might be publicly displayed elsewhere around the property, supplementing the other original artwork that already graced its walls. And here's the good news: To date, four works have already been moved to the registration area, where you can now view them -- for free. These include "Le Rêve" and "Nature morte aux tulips" by Picasso, Matisse's "The Persian Robe," and "Among the Roses" by Renoir. It's not often you get to see works by such renowned masters up-close-and-personal without paying a fee, and it's expected that over time some or all of these will be rotated with other works from the collection, which to the best of our knowledge currently consists of the following works:
Meanwhile, Bellagio, original home of the Wynn collection, still has its Gallery of Fine Art, which is currently housing an exhibition called "Impressionist Landscape" through the end of April.
