Gates To Bring Da Vinci's Codex To Seattle In '97 -- Sam To Exhibit Scientific Work Next Fall

In a move that is sending thrills of anticipation through the Seattle Art Museum, Bill Gates has decided to display his Codex Leicester at SAM next fall.

The manuscript is the scientific work written by Leonardo da Vinci that Gates bought for $30.8 million two years ago at auction. Its previous owner was the late California oil-tycoon Armand Hammer.

At the time, Gates would not say when or if he ever intended to show the fragile, nearly 500-year-old manuscript in Seattle. It is currently on view at the American Museum of Natural History in New York through Jan. 1.

In making the announcement, Mimi Gardner Gates, SAM's director, said SAM will show the manuscript next October in the context not only of da Vinci's scientific achievements but also in relation to his highly acclaimed contributions to art and Western culture. It will be SAM's big fall exhibition for 1997, and will be shown with other works by da Vinci and artists influenced by him.

The document, written between 1506 and 1510, is essentially scientific and contains da Vinci's thoughts and experiments on the movement of water, how tides affect the Earth and sky, and the physics of bridges. Physically, it is 18 loose, double sheets of writing (done in da Vinci's trademark backward script), and 360 pen-and-ink drawings.

After he purchased the manuscript, Gates changed its name to Codex Leicester to reflect that it was owned for several centuries by descendants of the Earl of Leicester. Hammer had called it the Codex Hammer after he bought it in 1980 for $5.6 million.

"Ever since the Codex Leicester was purchased in 1994, I've wanted to exhibit it here," said Gardner Gates.

"We are exceptionally pleased to present the Codex, and for the opportunity to join other local cultural institutions and community members in exploring the genius of this great artist."

Since Gardner Gates this fall married Bill Gates Jr., father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates III, many have wondered if her new family connections would result in a local exhibition of the Codex.

Gardner Gates said her new status as a family member did not influence Gates' decision to show his manuscript here.

"I had to go through the same channels as every other museum," she said, meaning she worked the deal through Resnicow Schroeder, the New York communications firm that handles the marketing and public relations of the Codex.

In a prepared statement, Bill Gates said, "When I acquired the Codex Leicester, I made a commitment to making it publicly accessible while preserving it for future generations. . . . It is important to me that the Seattle Art Museum have the opportunity to exhibit this great manuscript as well. I look forward to sharing the genius of Leonardo with this community."

Fred Schroeder, of Resnicow Schroeder, said the decision to show it here was based on the fact that Gates lives here, and that SAM is one of the nation's "great museums."

When the New York exhibit ends, the manuscript will be shown in Paris before coming to Seattle for the October show. It already has been on display in Milan, Venice and Rome.