The Columbus Museum of Art is an art museum located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The museum is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting American and European modern art and contemporary art along with folk art, glass art, and photography. In 2011, the Museum opened The Center for Creativity, an 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) space that includes galleries, gathering areas, and places for workshops that allow visitors to engage in hands-on activities. In 2013, the Museum was awarded the National Medal, the Nation’s highest honor for museums, from the Institute of Library and Museum Services.
Building
Its original building was the Sessions Mansion. It was replaced on the same site by the current building, which opened on January 22, 1931. It was designed by Columbus architects Richards, McCarty and Bulford. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 19, 1992, under its original name.
The museum launched a massive reconstruction and expansion in 2007. The first phase opened January 1, 2011, after 13-months of construction. On October 25, 2015, the new Margaret M. Walter wing was opened to the public, adding 50,000 square feet to the Museum.
Center for Creativity
The JPMorgan Chase Center for Creativity is a hub for creativity on the first floor of the museum, which includes Creativity Lounge, The Studio, The Wonder Room, Big Idea Gallery, and Open Gallery.
Collections
The permanent collection includes outstanding late nineteenth and early twentieth-century American and European modern works of art. Major collections include the Ferdinand Howald Collection of early Modernist paintings, the Sirak Collection of Impressionist and Expressionist works, The Photo League Collection, and the Philip and Suzanne Schiller Collection of American Social Commentary Art. The Museum houses the world’s largest collections of works by Columbus born artists Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson, Elijah Pierce, and George Bellows.
Highlights include early Cubist paintings by Picasso and Juan Gris, works by Boucher, Cézanne, Ingres, Degas, Matisse, Monet, Edward Hopper, and Norman Rockwell, and installations by Mel Chin, Josiah Mcelheny, Susan Philipsz, and Allan Sekula.
Selections from the permanent collection
References
External links
- Columbus Museum of Art official site
- Columbus Museum of Art: "Art and Social Issues". In May 2005 the Columbus Museum of Art acquired the Philip J. and Suzanne Schiller Collection which chronicles art through social commentary from 1930â€"1970s. This section of their website provides images, descriptions, artist biographies, and resources to teachers and students.
- Columbus Museum of Art YouTube channel
