Cincinnati Art Museum
Encyclopedia
The Cincinnati Art Museum is one of the oldest art museums in the United States. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies
. Its collection of over 60,000 works make it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Midwest
.
Museum founders debated locating the museum in either Burnett Woods, Eden Park
, or downtown Cincinnati on Washington Square. Charles West
, the major donor of the early museum, cast his votes in favor of Eden Park sealing its final location. The Romanesque-revival building designed by Cincinnati architect James W. McLaughlin
opened in 1886. A series of additions and renovations have considerably altered the building over its 120 year history.
In 2003, a major addition, The Cincinnati Wing http://www.cincinnati.com/cam/cincinnatiwing/ was added to house a permanent exhibit of art created for Cincinnati or by Cincinnati artists since 1788. The Cincinnati Wing includes fifteen new galleries covering 18000 square feet (1,672.3 m²) of well-appointed space, and 400 objects. The Odoardo Fantacchiotti angels are two of the largest pieces in the collection. Fantacchiotti created these angels for the main altar of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in the late 1840s. They were among the first European sculpture
s to come to Cincinnati.http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/cincywing/tour_patronage.shtml. The Cincinnati Wing also contains the work of Frank Duveneck
, Rookwood Pottery, Robert Scott Duncanson
Mitchell and Rammelsberg (Cincinnati's premier 19th century furniture manufacturer) and a tall case clock by Luman Watson
.
The Cincinnati Art Museum enjoyed the support of the community from the beginning. Generous donations from a number of prominent Cincinnatians, including Melville E. Ingalls
, grew the collection to number in the tens of thousands of objects, which soon necessitated the addition of the first of several Art Museum expansions.
In 1907 the Schmidlapp Wing opened, which was followed by a series of building projects. The addition of the Emery (named after Cincinnati philanthropists Thomas J. Emery and his wife Mary Emery
), Hanna and French wings in the 1930s enclosed the courtyard and gave the Art Museum its current rectangular shape and provided the space in which our American, European and Asian collections are currently shown.
Renovations during the late 1940s and early 1950s divided the Great Hall into two floors and the present main entrance to the Art Museum was established. The 1965 completion of the Adams-Emery wing increased our facility resources yet further, adding space for the permanent collection, lecture halls and temporary exhibition galleries.
In 1993, a $13 million project restored the grandeur of the Art Museum's interior architecture and uncovered long-hidden architectural details. This project included the renovation of one of the Art Museum's signature spaces, the Great Hall. In addition, new gallery space was created and lighting and climate control were improved. The Art Museum's temporary exhibition space was expanded to approximately 10000 square feet (929 m²) to accommodate major temporary exhibitions.
By the turn of the twenty-first century, the Art Museum's collection numbered over 60,000 objects and, today, is the largest in the state of Ohio. In 2003, the Cincinnati Art Museum deepened its ties with the Greater Cincinnati community by opening the popular and expansive Cincinnati Wing, the first permanent display of a city's art history in the nation. In addition, on May 17, 2003, the Art Museum eliminated its general admission fee forever, made possible by The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.
In 2009, the Art Museum made all special exhibitions free admission and instated a $4 parking fee.
("Judith with Head of Holofernes"), Matteo di Giovanni
, Mattia Preti
, Strozzi
, Frans Hals
, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
("St. Thomas of Villanueva"), Rubens
("Samson and Delilah") and Aert Vander Neer. The collection also includes works by Corot
, Renoir
, Pissarro, Monet ("Rocks At Belle Isle") and Picasso. The museum also has a large collection of paintings by American painter Frank Duveneck
("Elizabeth B. Duveneck").
in 1906. Free general admission for children is made possible in part through an endowment established by Cincinnati Financial Corporation/The Cincinnati Insurance Companies. Education program fees may apply to adults and children.
The Art Museum, located at 953 Eden Park Drive in Eden Park
, is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays. Parking fee per vehicle is $4.
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
. Its collection of over 60,000 works make it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
.
Museum founders debated locating the museum in either Burnett Woods, Eden Park
Eden Park, Cincinnati
Eden Park, owned and operated by the Cincinnati Park Board, is located in the Mt. Adams community of Cincinnati, Ohio. The park began as the designation for the city's water supply, purchased in 1859. However, early on the city saw that the area could also serve the dual purpose of city park...
, or downtown Cincinnati on Washington Square. Charles West
Charles West
Charles West may refer to:*Charles West , American silent film actor*Charles West , British crime mystery writer and actor*Charles F. West, U.S. Representative from Ohio*Charles S...
, the major donor of the early museum, cast his votes in favor of Eden Park sealing its final location. The Romanesque-revival building designed by Cincinnati architect James W. McLaughlin
James W. McLaughlin
James W. McLaughlin was a Cincinnati, Ohio architect. He studied to be an architect working under famed James Keys Wilson. He fought in the American Civil War serving in the Union Army. He become a popular builder in Cincinnati during the late 19th century...
opened in 1886. A series of additions and renovations have considerably altered the building over its 120 year history.
In 2003, a major addition, The Cincinnati Wing http://www.cincinnati.com/cam/cincinnatiwing/ was added to house a permanent exhibit of art created for Cincinnati or by Cincinnati artists since 1788. The Cincinnati Wing includes fifteen new galleries covering 18000 square feet (1,672.3 m²) of well-appointed space, and 400 objects. The Odoardo Fantacchiotti angels are two of the largest pieces in the collection. Fantacchiotti created these angels for the main altar of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in the late 1840s. They were among the first European sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
s to come to Cincinnati.http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/cincywing/tour_patronage.shtml. The Cincinnati Wing also contains the work of 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...
, Rookwood Pottery, Robert Scott Duncanson
Robert Scott Duncanson
Robert Scott Duncanson was born in Seneca County, New York in 1821. Duncanson’s father was a Canadian of Scottish descent and his mother was an African American, thus making him “a freeborn person of color.” Duncanson, an artist who is relatively unknown today, painted America, both physically...
Mitchell and Rammelsberg (Cincinnati's premier 19th century furniture manufacturer) and a tall case clock by Luman Watson
Luman Watson
Luman Watson was an early Cincinnati clockmaker. He worked in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1819 to 1834. His clocks had wooden works. He made both tall clocks and shelf clocks....
.
History
In the late nineteenth century, public art museums were still very much a new phenomenon, especially as far west as Cincinnati. Following the success of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia, the Women's Art Museum Association was organized in Cincinnati with the intent of bringing such an institution to the region for the benefit of all citizens. Enthusiasm for these goals grew steadily and by 1881 the Cincinnati Museum Association was incorporated. Just five years later, in May 1886, a permanent art museum building was completed in Eden Park and was heralded worldwide as "The Art Palace of the West."The Cincinnati Art Museum enjoyed the support of the community from the beginning. Generous donations from a number of prominent Cincinnatians, including Melville E. Ingalls
Melville E. Ingalls
Melville Ezra Ingalls , commonly abbreviated M.E. Ingalls, was a Massachusetts state legislator who went on to become president of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad .-Career:...
, grew the collection to number in the tens of thousands of objects, which soon necessitated the addition of the first of several Art Museum expansions.
In 1907 the Schmidlapp Wing opened, which was followed by a series of building projects. The addition of the Emery (named after Cincinnati philanthropists Thomas J. Emery and his wife Mary Emery
Mary Emery
Mary Emery, Cincinnati's lady bountiful, was born to parents Richard Hopkins and Mary Barr Denny Muhlenberg in 1844. In 1862, Mary and her family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio from Brooklyn, New York. Mary was educated at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn and excelled in advanced...
), Hanna and French wings in the 1930s enclosed the courtyard and gave the Art Museum its current rectangular shape and provided the space in which our American, European and Asian collections are currently shown.
Renovations during the late 1940s and early 1950s divided the Great Hall into two floors and the present main entrance to the Art Museum was established. The 1965 completion of the Adams-Emery wing increased our facility resources yet further, adding space for the permanent collection, lecture halls and temporary exhibition galleries.
By the turn of the twenty-first century, the Art Museum's collection numbered over 60,000 objects and, today, is the largest in the state of Ohio. In 2003, the Cincinnati Art Museum deepened its ties with the Greater Cincinnati community by opening the popular and expansive Cincinnati Wing, the first permanent display of a city's art history in the nation. In addition, on May 17, 2003, the Art Museum eliminated its general admission fee forever, made possible by The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation.
Recent History
In 2006, the Art Museum marked its 125th anniversary, with 125 days of programs and events. Also in 2006, the Art Museum hired its current director, Aaron Betsky.In 2009, the Art Museum made all special exhibitions free admission and instated a $4 parking fee.
Collection
The art museum has paintings by several European Masters, including: Master of San Baudelio, Jorge Ingles, Sandro BotticelliSandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
("Judith with Head of Holofernes"), Matteo di Giovanni
Matteo di Giovanni
Matteo di Giovanni c. 1430 - 1495) was an Italian Renaissance artist from the Sienese school.-Biography:Matteo di Giovanni di Bartolo was born in Borgo Sansepolcro around 1430. His family relocated to Siena and he is firmly associated with the art of that city...
, Mattia Preti
Mattia Preti
Mattia Preti was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta.- Biography :Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was sometimes called Il Cavalier Calabrese...
, Strozzi
Strozzi
Strozzi is the name of an ancient and noble Florentine family. Palla Strozzi played an important part in the public life of Florence, and founded the first public library in Florence in the monastery of Santa Trinita...
, Frans Hals
Frans Hals
Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Bartolomé Estéban Murillo
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children...
("St. Thomas of Villanueva"), Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
("Samson and Delilah") and Aert Vander Neer. The collection also includes works by Corot
Corot
Corot may refer to:* Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French landscape painter * COROT, a space mission with the dual aims of finding extrasolar planets and performing asteroseismology* COROT-7, a dwarf star in the Monoceros constellation...
, Renoir
Renoir
-People with the surname Renoir :* Pierre-Auguste Renoir , French painter* Pierre Renoir , French actor and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir* Jean Renoir , French film director and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir...
, Pissarro, Monet ("Rocks At Belle Isle") and Picasso. The museum also has a large collection of paintings by American painter 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...
("Elizabeth B. Duveneck").
Admission and hours of operation
General admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is free every day, made possible by a donation from The Richard and Lois Rosenthal Foundation. Special exhibition fees may apply. Saturday's free admission is funded by The Thomas J. Emery Free Day Endowment, established by Mary EmeryMary Emery
Mary Emery, Cincinnati's lady bountiful, was born to parents Richard Hopkins and Mary Barr Denny Muhlenberg in 1844. In 1862, Mary and her family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio from Brooklyn, New York. Mary was educated at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn and excelled in advanced...
in 1906. Free general admission for children is made possible in part through an endowment established by Cincinnati Financial Corporation/The Cincinnati Insurance Companies. Education program fees may apply to adults and children.
The Art Museum, located at 953 Eden Park Drive in Eden Park
Eden Park, Cincinnati
Eden Park, owned and operated by the Cincinnati Park Board, is located in the Mt. Adams community of Cincinnati, Ohio. The park began as the designation for the city's water supply, purchased in 1859. However, early on the city saw that the area could also serve the dual purpose of city park...
, is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays. Parking fee per vehicle is $4.