We can’t say we weren’t worried. Watching building disrepair and funding battles, scrapped additions and ousted leaders, many of us wondered if the Corcoran Gallery of Art would ever bounce back from its troubles.

On the contrary, it seems the Corcoran may have entered a bright new era. The Post followed around new Director Paul Greenhalgh and published a thorough report on the gallery’s new vision. Greenhalgh’s enthusiasm is infectious as he describes his first trip to the Corcoran’s vaults, both “overjoyed and shocked” at their “depth,” and already focusing on a long-term plan for display of the permanent collection.

As the Post notes, Greenhalgh seems to have the right experience. He was the head of the research department at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London when they suffered the same expansion failure as the Corcoran’s proposed Gehry wing.

More importantly, Greenhalgh’s “think tank” approach to directing can only mean good things. Though some, including another Post writer, have said Corcoran must tighten up its focus to be successful, going so far as to suggest it become a museum solely of photography, others, including Greenhalgh, know that a great vision doesn’t require eliminating all but one medium. Unlike, say, the National Portrait Gallery, the Corcoran has never focused on a particular type of art, instead, it focuses on an approach: education. While that may seem more unwieldy, it’s not impossible, and the Corocoran can go about doing it with honed curating skills, creating exhibitions that engage and inform the viewer.