remarkable collection of thirty-one paintings by American Impressionist William Merritt Chase. In 1981, further depth was added to the collection when nearly 200 works of art by the prominent American painter, critic, and longtime Southampton resident Fairfield Porter (1907–1975) were donated by his wife Anne and by the artist's estate. Building from the strength of these collections, the Museum now traces the evolution of American art from its roots in an emerging landscape tradition through the liberating influences of European modernism and the development of the New York School to the stylistic diversity of contemporary art, focusing its exhibitions and acquisitions on American painting of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with special attention to artists who have lived and worked on Long Island's East End and their influence on the national and international art world. Once home to Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Roy Lichtenstein, among many others, today's residents, full-time or seasonal, include Chuck Close, Ross Bleckner, April Gornik, Eric Fischl, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, and Donald Sultan. The museum had long had a significant amount of its collection in storage. It 2000 it acquired the neighboring Rogers Memorial Library for an annex after the library moved to a new building on the edge of town. The library was acquired for $1.1 million from more than $3 million donated by Carroll Petrie for the acquisition and renovations. The buildings were still considered too small for the collection. In 2012 as part of the move to Water Mill the library was sold for $2.875 to Ajax Holding LLC., which has plans to convert the building commercial space and to also restore it. The original Parrish structure is to undergo renovations designed by architect David Rockwell to become the new Southampton Center. Water Mill location (2012–present) The museum encountered opposition to its plans to modernize and enlarge its historic Jobs Lane complex. Recognizing the need to grow and to provide for a modern facility with appropriate climate control, the Board of Trustees decided to embark on a new project to design and construct a purpose-built building. In 2005 the Museum purchased a 14-acre (57,000 square meter) site in Water Mill, New York for $3.8 million on the site of a former tree nursery immediately adjacent to the Duck Walk Vineyards winery 2.3 miles (3.7 km) from the original location on Jobs Lane, Southampton. Following extensive research of more than 65