The 54th Carnegie International, a triennial exhibition that showcases contemporary art in North America, attracted 145,329 paid general admissions to the Carnegie Museum of Art or roughly 14,000 fewer visitors than the previous exhibition of 1999-2000.

The show, which opened Oct. 9, 2004, and ran through March 20 of this year, was curated by Laura Hoptman of New York City. When Hoptman was appointed curator of the Carnegie International, she was assistant curator of the Department of Drawings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

This was the first Carnegie International at which patrons paid an additional $2 to see the contemporary art showcase, which was housed primarily in the Heinz and Scaife galleries. However, 16 works by contemporary artists were on display throughout the museum in public areas such as the lobby or the Hall of Sculpture.

Nonetheless, total attendance was higher during the 1999-2000 Carnegie International, which drew 160,000 people, said Tey Stiteler, a spokeswoman for the museum. The 2004-05 International ran three weeks longer than the previous exhibition.

However, the Carnegie Museum of Art's store sales exceeded those of the previous International, with catalog sales up by 11 percent and branded merchandise such as Robert Crumb posters, International T-shirts and tote bags up by 19 percent.

The Carnegie Museum of Art has already purchased works not in the exhibition by International artists such as Kutlug Ataman, Kathy Butterly, Crumb, Peter Doig, Julie Mehretu, Tomma Abts, Pawel Althamer, John Bock, Mark Grothahn, Rachel Harrison and Neo Rauch. The Museum of Art trustees will meet on Thursday to vote on additional acquisitions from the Carnegie International or by International artists.

The next Carnegie International will be held in the summer of 2008, Stiteler said, because "That's when people vacation. People who would be coming in from out of town would be less inclined to come in January than they might in July."