Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Encyclopedia
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located in Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York
. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art
and contemporary art
. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College
.
industrialist, began the construction of the Albright Art Gallery for the Academy. The building was designed by prominent local architect Edward Brodhead Green
. It was originally intended to be used as the Fine Arts Pavilion for the Pan-American Exposition
in 1901, but delays in its construction caused it to remain uncompleted until 1905.
In 1962 a new addition was made to the gallery through the contributions of Seymour H. Knox, Jr. and his family, and many other donors. At this time the museum was renamed the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The new building was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
architect Gordon Bunshaft
, who is noted for the Lever House
in New York City.
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
.
The gallery's collection includes several pieces spanning art throughout the centuries. Impressionistic
and Post-Impressionistic
styles can be found in works by artists of the nineteenth century such as Paul Gauguin
and Vincent van Gogh
. Revolutionary styles from the early twentieth century such as cubism
, surrealism
, constructivism
are represented in works by artists like Pablo Picasso
, Georges Braque
, Henri Matisse
, André Derain
, Joan Miró
, Piet Mondrian
, and Alexander Rodchenko
. More modern pieces showing styles of abstract expressionism
, pop art
, and art of the 1970s through the end of the century can also be found represented by artists such as Arshile Gorky
, Jackson Pollock
, and Andy Warhol
. Their contemporary collection includes pieces by artists such as Kiki Smith
, Allan Graham
, Georg Baselitz
, John Connell
, and Per Kirkeby
. Additionally, the gallery is also very rich in various pieces of post-war
American and European art.
the Gallery is open from 10am-10pm, with free admission to the permanent collection.
On June 7, 2007, a Roman era bronze sculpture of Artemis and the Stag
sold at Sotheby’s auction house in New York by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery brought $28.6 million, the highest price ever paid at auction for an antiquity or a sculpture of any period, according to Sotheby's. It was purchased by the London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi
on behalf of a private European collector. The event brought national attention to what had been a local question, the mission of the Albright-Knox, which was defined by the Albright-Knox director Louis Grachos in February 2007, at the time the list of works of art to be deaccessioned, as falling outside the institution's historical "core mission" of "acquiring and exhibiting art of the present". The definition made public critics wonder whether the position at the Gallery of "William Hogarth
's Lady's Last Stake or Sir Joshua Reynolds' Cupid as a Link Boy were secure; works by Gustave Courbet
, Honoré Daumier
, Jacques-Louis David
and Eugène Delacroix
were purchased by the museum in earlier decades.
The vote to deaccession certain art works was made by a vote of the museum's Board of Directors, was voted and ratified by the entire membership, and followed the guidelines of the American Association of Museums
.http://artvoice.com/issues/v6n8/war_against_the_albright_knox The sale raised questions about how museums can remain vital when they are situated in economically declining regions and have limited means for raising funds for operations and acquisitions.http://www.artsjournal.com/man/2007/03/reexamining_deaccessioning_at.html
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College
Buffalo State College
The State University of New York College at Buffalo, referred to as Buffalo State College, often referred to colloquially as Buff State, is a public, liberal arts college in Buffalo, New York, United States and is part of the State University of New York. Buffalo State was founded in 1871 as the...
.
History
The parent organization of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, founded in 1862. It is one of the oldest public arts institutions in the United States. In 1890, Buffalo entrepreneur and philanthropist, John J. Albright, a wealthy BuffaloBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
industrialist, began the construction of the Albright Art Gallery for the Academy. The building was designed by prominent local architect Edward Brodhead Green
Edward Brodhead Green
E. B. Green was a major American architect from New York State. He was born in Utica, NY. He attended Cornell University, and moved to Buffalo, NY in 1881, where he was active through about 1930...
. It was originally intended to be used as the Fine Arts Pavilion for the Pan-American Exposition
Pan-American Exposition
The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is present day Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave and northward to Great Arrow...
in 1901, but delays in its construction caused it to remain uncompleted until 1905.
In 1962 a new addition was made to the gallery through the contributions of Seymour H. Knox, Jr. and his family, and many other donors. At this time the museum was renamed the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The new building was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
architect Gordon Bunshaft
Gordon Bunshaft
Gordon Bunshaft was an architect educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1988, Gordon Bunshaft nominated himself for the Pritzker Prize and eventually won it.-Career:...
, who is noted for the Lever House
Lever House
Lever House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and located at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, is the quintessential and seminal glass-box skyscraper built in the International style according to the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Completed in 1952, it was...
in New York City.
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Collection
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
and Post-Impressionistic
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
styles can be found in works by artists of the nineteenth century such as Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
and Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
. Revolutionary styles from the early twentieth century such as cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
, surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, constructivism
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
are represented in works by artists like Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, Georges Braque
Georges Braque
Georges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
, Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
, André Derain
André Derain
André Derain was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.-Early years:...
, Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
, Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
, and Alexander Rodchenko
Alexander Rodchenko
Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko was a Russian artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. He was one of the founders of constructivism and Russian design; he was married to the artist Varvara Stepanova....
. More modern pieces showing styles of abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
, pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, and art of the 1970s through the end of the century can also be found represented by artists such as Arshile Gorky
Arshile Gorky
Arshile Gorky was an Armenian-born American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. As such, his works were often speculated to have been informed by the suffering and loss he experienced of the Armenian genocide.-Early life:...
, Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, and Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
. Their contemporary collection includes pieces by artists such as Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith is an American artist classified as a feminist artist, a movement with beginnings in the twentieth century...
, Allan Graham
Allan Graham
Allan Graham, who sometimes uses the name Toadhouse, is a contemporary American artist based in New Mexico...
, Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitz is a German painter who studied in the former East Germany, before moving to what was then the country of West Germany...
, John Connell
John Connell
John Connell was a contemporary American artist. His works included sculpture, painting, drawing, and writing....
, and Per Kirkeby
Per Kirkeby
Per Kirkeby is a Danish painter, poet, filmmaker and sculptor.-Biography:1962 Studies at the Experimental Art School in Copenhagen; works in the School on painting, graphic arts, 8 millimeter films and performance pieces...
. Additionally, the gallery is also very rich in various pieces of post-war
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
American and European art.
Hours
The gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm. The first Friday of the month, through the generous support of M&T BankM&T Bank
M&T Bank is an American commercial bank that was founded in 1856 in western New York, and today remains headquartered in Buffalo at One M & T Plaza...
the Gallery is open from 10am-10pm, with free admission to the permanent collection.
Deaccessioning and the Albright-Knox's mission
Artemis and the Stag
Artemis and the Stag is an early Roman Imperial or Hellenistic bronze sculpture of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis. In June 2007 the Albright-Knox Art Gallery placed the statue into auction; it fetched $28.6 million, the highest sale price of any sculpture at the time.-Description:The statue...
sold at Sotheby’s auction house in New York by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery brought $28.6 million, the highest price ever paid at auction for an antiquity or a sculpture of any period, according to Sotheby's. It was purchased by the London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi
Giuseppe Eskenazi
Giuseppe Eskenazi is regarded as one of the most important oriental art dealers in the world, working at the highest end of the market, selling to museums and ambitious collectors. He owns a London gallery, which opened in 1960. In 2007 he sold a rare Cézanne watercolor of a melon, he collected,...
on behalf of a private European collector. The event brought national attention to what had been a local question, the mission of the Albright-Knox, which was defined by the Albright-Knox director Louis Grachos in February 2007, at the time the list of works of art to be deaccessioned, as falling outside the institution's historical "core mission" of "acquiring and exhibiting art of the present". The definition made public critics wonder whether the position at the Gallery of "William Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
's Lady's Last Stake or Sir Joshua Reynolds' Cupid as a Link Boy were secure; works by Gustave Courbet
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was a French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting. The Realist movement bridged the Romantic movement , with the Barbizon School and the Impressionists...
, Honoré Daumier
Honoré Daumier
Honoré Daumier was a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19th century....
, Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David was an influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era...
and Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
were purchased by the museum in earlier decades.
The vote to deaccession certain art works was made by a vote of the museum's Board of Directors, was voted and ratified by the entire membership, and followed the guidelines of the American Association of Museums
American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...
.http://artvoice.com/issues/v6n8/war_against_the_albright_knox The sale raised questions about how museums can remain vital when they are situated in economically declining regions and have limited means for raising funds for operations and acquisitions.http://www.artsjournal.com/man/2007/03/reexamining_deaccessioning_at.html
External links
- Albright-Knox Art Gallery official homepage
- Buffalo Architecture and History: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, with photos and more detailed history