Alabama Museum displays art from the CIA

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama museum is displaying an art collection available in only one other place: the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency. Birmingham's Southern Museum of Flight opened a gallery this month featuring 16 reproductions of original artwork donated to the CIA and displayed at its building in McLean, Va. Based upon once-secret events that have since been declassified, the artwork provides a rare glimpse into decades of U.S. spy work. But members of the general public can't see it because it's inside the nation's spy headquarters. Director Jim Griffin says the new display at his Alabama museum gives people an opportunity to learn about the CIA's history and the exploits of its workers. Griffin developed the gallery after learning about the CIA collection from an artist.