Canton Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
The Canton Museum of Art, founded in 1935, is a broad-based community arts organization designed to encourage and promote the fine arts in Canton, Ohio
.
In its early days (1935-1945), the Museum served largely as an exhibition and meeting place for local artists; collecting was not a prime objective. A program from 1943 lists the museum’s eight objectives, with the Permanent Collection mentioned last: “To provide a permanent museum for the collecting and preservation of art objects.” Operating under this broad mandate, the Museum began to purchase work of local and regional artists. Many of these works were of Canton area landmarks or personalities documenting the cultural and historic heritage of the area. Gifts from local patrons and corporate benefactors from their personal art collections are also included in the Museum's holdings. Many of these donors were themselves artists or sponsors of area artists.
The Museum collection added to the local cultural heritage in two major ways - public exposure to the larger world of art and documentation of local art history. The purchases of works by local artists and the acceptance of donations were the two major influences on the development of the Permanent Collection until the Museum moved into the Cultural Center for the Arts in 1970. At that time, the Museum’s Board decided that the Permanent Collection should be focused on a more specific collecting area. The Ralph L. Wilson Collection of American Art, gifted in the 1970s, was a significant step toward the eventual focus on 19th and 20th Century American artists.
All the arts in Canton were centralized when the Cultural Center for the Arts was established in 1970. The Institute began a program of expanded exhibits and art classes. Educational initiatives, such as the Humanities program with the Canton City Schools, were begun and new affiliate organizations, including the Museum Guild, the Players’ Guild Theatre, and the Potter's Guild were founded.
During the 1980s, the Board of Trustees and CMA Staff began to clarify the goals and direction of the Museum. In 1989, a unique focus for the Permanent Collection:
was approved by the CMC and Board of Trustees.
1980s CAI shows including a Goya exhibit, two successful exhibitions of Ohio’s quilts and a commemoration of the Statue of Liberty’s centennial. In the 1990s, the museum presented a broad variety of exhibits, including innovative projects such as Ubu Roi and The Power of If involving students, teachers and area artists. A CMA original exhibit, "Ultra-Realistic Sculpture by Mark Sijan," presented here in 1992, went on an extended national tour. The museum's educational efforts included Outreach programs and Art Experience Days.
CMA celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 1995 and assumed a new identity as The Canton Museum of Art. In 1997-98, the Museum presented "Norman Rockwell’s America," the most successful exhibit in the Museum’s history and hosted a touring exhibition from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "The Nazi Olympics—Berlin 1936." In 2004, the Museum presented the prestigious "Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures" exhibit to over 12,000 patrons in six weeks.
Once a year, gallery space is devoted to art by high school students in Canton and Stark County. The high school shows are juried
and financial scholarships are awarded for both college and CMA art classes.
Affiliate groups have two fund-raisers annually that are intended as social events for the community. The “Antiques in Canton” Show & Sale has a nationally known guest curator, and “Christkindl Markt” is a juried arts and craft show bringing over 100 craftsmen from around the country.
The Museum’s Education Department provides the public with studio art classes and workshops. Educational Outreach programs take the museum off-site to libraries, parochial schools, area public schools, five inner city schools and a special school for students with behavioral disorders. Docent-led school tours are available for current exhibitions and art experience days allow students to participate in hands-on projects.
For over 20 years, the Canton City school district has offered special Humanities courses to its students at the Museum. And Kent State Stark Campus schedules its pottery classes in our Pot Shop. The CMA is a regular meeting place for a number of community and civic organizations such as the Rotary, the Canton Garden Club, and Prime Time, a seniors group affiliated with a local hospital.
The collection focus was enhanced through the gift of a fine collection of watercolors and drawings from Ralph L. Wilson in the 70s. Included in his gift were works by Burchfield, Demuth, Feininger, Henri, Keller, Marin, Maurer, Prendergast, Shinn, Sommer. Augmented the watercolor collection are purchased works of Thomas Hart Benton
, Oscar Bluemner, Carolyn Brady
, Winslow Homer
, Edward Hopper
, George Luks
, Jan Multaka, Joseph Raffael
, John Singer Sargent
and Andrew Wyeth
. The print collection contains work by Romare Bearden
, Thomas Hart Benton, Alexander Calder
, Mary Cassatt
, Roy Lichtenstein
, Mary Nimmo Moran
, Philip Pearlstein
, Robert Rauschenberg
, Larry Rivers
and Andy Warhol
.
Contemporary ceramics 1950s and forward is a unique yet traditional focus for the Museum. Ohio’s history of ceramics includes decorative pottery work of Roseville, Rookwood, Weller and McCoy and the Museum’s focus extends this interest in pottery with contemporary works. The collection contains works by Jack Earl, Maija Grotell
, Marilyn Levine, Toshiko Takaezu
and Patti Warashina among others. In the past three years, the collection has been expanded through gifts and purchases with works by Ken Ferguson, Karen Karnes
, Don Pilcher, Don Reitz and Victor Spinski.
In addition, the Museum maintain an American painting collection which presently includes 1300 objects. Included in this collection are works by Gifford Beal
, George Clough, Frank Duveneck
, William Glackens
, Arthur Clifton Goodwin, John Kensett, John Koch
, Thomas Moran
, Robert E. L. Rainey
, Mary Spain and Gilbert Stuart
.
Since 1992, the Museum has purchased watercolors by Thomas Hart Benton
, Oscar Bluemner, Carolyn Brady
, Winslow Homer
, Edward Hopper
, George Luks
, Jan Multaka, Joseph Raffael
and John Singer Sargent
. The ceramic collection was supplemented with purchases of works by Brother Thomas Bezanson
, Ken Ferguson, Karen Karnes
, Roberta Laidman and Victor Spinski. In addition, the Museum accepted gifts of works by Don Pilcher and Don Reitz.
The permanent collection serves as the foundation for the Museum’s exhibition programs. It is used in ongoing exhibits of the Permanent Collection (mindful of the special rotation requirements of watercolors and works on paper), and as the core of special exhibits created with loans from other institutions.
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
In its early days (1935-1945), the Museum served largely as an exhibition and meeting place for local artists; collecting was not a prime objective. A program from 1943 lists the museum’s eight objectives, with the Permanent Collection mentioned last: “To provide a permanent museum for the collecting and preservation of art objects.” Operating under this broad mandate, the Museum began to purchase work of local and regional artists. Many of these works were of Canton area landmarks or personalities documenting the cultural and historic heritage of the area. Gifts from local patrons and corporate benefactors from their personal art collections are also included in the Museum's holdings. Many of these donors were themselves artists or sponsors of area artists.
The Museum collection added to the local cultural heritage in two major ways - public exposure to the larger world of art and documentation of local art history. The purchases of works by local artists and the acceptance of donations were the two major influences on the development of the Permanent Collection until the Museum moved into the Cultural Center for the Arts in 1970. At that time, the Museum’s Board decided that the Permanent Collection should be focused on a more specific collecting area. The Ralph L. Wilson Collection of American Art, gifted in the 1970s, was a significant step toward the eventual focus on 19th and 20th Century American artists.
History
The Canton Museum of Art traces its roots to the Little Civic Art Gallery founded in the Canton Public Library in 1935. A year later, the organization became known as the Canton Art Institute and an active program of exhibits and educational programs flourished throughout the late 1930s. In 1941, a Richardsonian building known as the Case Mansion was donated and renovated to become the home of the Institute. During the next thirty years, CAI became a focal point for the arts in Canton, supporting affiliate organizations such as Canton Fine Arts Associates. It provided a home for the offices of the Canton Symphony, and facilities for the Madrigal Singers, Canton Chamber Music Society and the Players’ Guild.All the arts in Canton were centralized when the Cultural Center for the Arts was established in 1970. The Institute began a program of expanded exhibits and art classes. Educational initiatives, such as the Humanities program with the Canton City Schools, were begun and new affiliate organizations, including the Museum Guild, the Players’ Guild Theatre, and the Potter's Guild were founded.
During the 1980s, the Board of Trustees and CMA Staff began to clarify the goals and direction of the Museum. In 1989, a unique focus for the Permanent Collection:
- 19th and 20th Century American works on paper and
- American ceramics, 1950s and forward,
was approved by the CMC and Board of Trustees.
1980s CAI shows including a Goya exhibit, two successful exhibitions of Ohio’s quilts and a commemoration of the Statue of Liberty’s centennial. In the 1990s, the museum presented a broad variety of exhibits, including innovative projects such as Ubu Roi and The Power of If involving students, teachers and area artists. A CMA original exhibit, "Ultra-Realistic Sculpture by Mark Sijan," presented here in 1992, went on an extended national tour. The museum's educational efforts included Outreach programs and Art Experience Days.
CMA celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 1995 and assumed a new identity as The Canton Museum of Art. In 1997-98, the Museum presented "Norman Rockwell’s America," the most successful exhibit in the Museum’s history and hosted a touring exhibition from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "The Nazi Olympics—Berlin 1936." In 2004, the Museum presented the prestigious "Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures" exhibit to over 12,000 patrons in six weeks.
Museum overview
CMA offers 12 to 15 exhibitions throughout the year. In this rotation, the main exhibition is often accompanied by two smaller exhibitions of regional artists and a presentation of works from the permanent collection developed around a theme. Permanent Collection exhibitions might contain works by significant American, European and regional artists.Once a year, gallery space is devoted to art by high school students in Canton and Stark County. The high school shows are juried
Juried (competition)
A juried competition is a competition in which participants' work is judged by a person or panel of persons convened specifically to judge the participants' efforts, either by the competition's stated rubric or by a subjective set of criteria dependent upon the nature of the competition or the...
and financial scholarships are awarded for both college and CMA art classes.
Affiliate groups have two fund-raisers annually that are intended as social events for the community. The “Antiques in Canton” Show & Sale has a nationally known guest curator, and “Christkindl Markt” is a juried arts and craft show bringing over 100 craftsmen from around the country.
The Museum’s Education Department provides the public with studio art classes and workshops. Educational Outreach programs take the museum off-site to libraries, parochial schools, area public schools, five inner city schools and a special school for students with behavioral disorders. Docent-led school tours are available for current exhibitions and art experience days allow students to participate in hands-on projects.
For over 20 years, the Canton City school district has offered special Humanities courses to its students at the Museum. And Kent State Stark Campus schedules its pottery classes in our Pot Shop. The CMA is a regular meeting place for a number of community and civic organizations such as the Rotary, the Canton Garden Club, and Prime Time, a seniors group affiliated with a local hospital.
Permanent collection
The Canton Museum of Art’s Permanent Collection focus is 19th, 20th and 21st century American works on paper and contemporary ceramics, 1950s and forward. Major categories are American paintings; American drawings; American watercolors; American prints and American ceramics. This focus is unique among museums in northeast Ohio – an area that includes such distinguished museums as the Akron Art Museum, The Butler Institute of American Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art.The collection focus was enhanced through the gift of a fine collection of watercolors and drawings from Ralph L. Wilson in the 70s. Included in his gift were works by Burchfield, Demuth, Feininger, Henri, Keller, Marin, Maurer, Prendergast, Shinn, Sommer. Augmented the watercolor collection are purchased works of Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (painter)
Thomas Hart Benton was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement. His fluid, almost sculpted paintings showed everyday scenes of life in the United States...
, Oscar Bluemner, Carolyn Brady
Carolyn Brady
Carolyn Brady was an American photorealist painter and artist, most known for her large, hyper-realistic watercolors of flowers and table settings.-Early Works:...
, Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art....
, Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
, George Luks
George Luks
George Benjamin Luks, was an American realist artist and illustrator. His vigorously painted genre paintings of urban subjects are examples of the Ashcan school in American art.-Early life:...
, Jan Multaka, Joseph Raffael
Joseph Raffael
Joseph Raffael is an American contemporary realist painter.His paintings are almost all presented on a very large scale.He lives with his wife, Lannis Raffael in the south of France....
, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
and Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Newell Wyeth was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century....
. The print collection contains work by Romare Bearden
Romare Bearden
Romare Bearden was an African American artist and writer. He worked in several media including cartoons, oils, and collage.-Education:...
, Thomas Hart Benton, Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...
, Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
, Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
, Mary Nimmo Moran
Mary Nimmo Moran
Mary Nimmo Moran , also found as M. Nimmo Moran, was a prominent American 19th century landscape artist specializing in etchings. She completed roughly 70 landscape etchings, which included scenes of England and Scotland, and in the United States, Long Island, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania...
, Philip Pearlstein
Philip Pearlstein
Philip Pearlstein is an American painter, and part of the contemporary Realist school.-Biography:Pearlstein was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and received his Masters in art history at New York University. He was a friend of Andy Warhol from...
, Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
, Larry Rivers
Larry Rivers
Larry Rivers was an American artist, musician, filmmaker and occasional actor. Rivers resided and maintained studios in New York City, Southampton, New York and Zihuatanejo, Mexico.-Biography:...
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...
.
Contemporary ceramics 1950s and forward is a unique yet traditional focus for the Museum. Ohio’s history of ceramics includes decorative pottery work of Roseville, Rookwood, Weller and McCoy and the Museum’s focus extends this interest in pottery with contemporary works. The collection contains works by Jack Earl, Maija Grotell
Maija Grotell
Maija Grotell was a ceramist and teacher sometimes described today as the “mother of American ceramics”. Grotell was born in Helsinki, Finland, and emigrated to New York in 1927. After arriving in New York she studied at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University...
, Marilyn Levine, Toshiko Takaezu
Toshiko Takaezu
Toshiko Takaezu was an American ceramic artist.She was born to Japanese immigrant parents in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, in 1922. She studied at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and at the University of Hawaii under Claude Horan from 1948-1951...
and Patti Warashina among others. In the past three years, the collection has been expanded through gifts and purchases with works by Ken Ferguson, Karen Karnes
Karen Karnes
Karen Karnes is an American ceramist, best known for her earth-toned stoneware ceramics. She was born in 1925 in New York City, United States, where she attended art schools for children. Her garment worker parents were Russian and Polish immigrants. Karen was influenced in many ways by her...
, Don Pilcher, Don Reitz and Victor Spinski.
In addition, the Museum maintain an American painting collection which presently includes 1300 objects. Included in this collection are works by Gifford Beal
Gifford Beal
Gifford Beal was an American artist noted for his work as a painter, watercolorist, printmaker and muralist.-Early life:Born in New York City, Gifford Beal was the youngest son in a family of six surviving children...
, George Clough, Frank Duveneck
Frank Duveneck
Frank Duveneck was an American figure and portrait painter.-Youth:Duveneck was born in Covington, Kentucky, the son of German immigrant Bernard Decker. Decker died when Frank was only a year old and his widow remarried Joseph Duveneck...
, William Glackens
William Glackens
William James Glackens was an American realist painter.Glackens studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later moved to New York City, where he co-founded what came to be called the Ashcan School art movement...
, Arthur Clifton Goodwin, John Kensett, John Koch
John Koch
John Koch was an American painter, and an important figure in 20th century realist painting. His early work may be considered Impressionist...
, Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran from Bolton, England was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family took residence in New York where he obtained work as an artist...
, Robert E. L. Rainey
Robert E. L. Rainey
Robert E. L. Rainey was an American artist, art educator and advertising executive. Born in Jackson, MS, he grew up in Chicago, and attended the Chicago Art Institute, studying under F. Chapin and B. Anisfield and receiving B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees. Initially a watercolorist, Rainey specialized...
, Mary Spain and Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...
.
Since 1992, the Museum has purchased watercolors by Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (painter)
Thomas Hart Benton was an American painter and muralist. Along with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, he was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement. His fluid, almost sculpted paintings showed everyday scenes of life in the United States...
, Oscar Bluemner, Carolyn Brady
Carolyn Brady
Carolyn Brady was an American photorealist painter and artist, most known for her large, hyper-realistic watercolors of flowers and table settings.-Early Works:...
, Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art....
, Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
, George Luks
George Luks
George Benjamin Luks, was an American realist artist and illustrator. His vigorously painted genre paintings of urban subjects are examples of the Ashcan school in American art.-Early life:...
, Jan Multaka, Joseph Raffael
Joseph Raffael
Joseph Raffael is an American contemporary realist painter.His paintings are almost all presented on a very large scale.He lives with his wife, Lannis Raffael in the south of France....
and John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
. The ceramic collection was supplemented with purchases of works by Brother Thomas Bezanson
Thomas Bezanson
Brother Thomas Bezanson was a Canadian born artist primarily known for his porcelain pottery and mastery of complex glazes...
, Ken Ferguson, Karen Karnes
Karen Karnes
Karen Karnes is an American ceramist, best known for her earth-toned stoneware ceramics. She was born in 1925 in New York City, United States, where she attended art schools for children. Her garment worker parents were Russian and Polish immigrants. Karen was influenced in many ways by her...
, Roberta Laidman and Victor Spinski. In addition, the Museum accepted gifts of works by Don Pilcher and Don Reitz.
The permanent collection serves as the foundation for the Museum’s exhibition programs. It is used in ongoing exhibits of the Permanent Collection (mindful of the special rotation requirements of watercolors and works on paper), and as the core of special exhibits created with loans from other institutions.