Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
The Fort Wayne Museum of Art (FWMoA) is a Contemporary art
museum
located in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana
, Allen County
, United States
, neighboring the Arts United Center. The Fort Wayne Museum of Art contains permanent collections and national traveling exhibitions and is accredited by the American Association of Museums
.
, and later William Forsyth
, began teaching informal art classes. By the year 1897, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art School was formally organized from the art classes that had been in session for the past nine years. The function of "museum" was integrated into the school when a collection of ten paintings was donated by Theodore Thieme in 1921. By 1949, the B. Paul Mossman Home at 1202 West Wayne Street in downtown Fort Wayne was donated to the museum, giving the museum an entire facility for the first time in its history to showcase exhibitions and collections. In 1977, the museum separated from the art school, the latter becoming a department of IPFW
. The Fort Wayne Museum of Art's current home is a structure that opened in 1984 at the intersection of Lafayette Street and Main Street in downtown Fort Wayne.
of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, encompassing 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) and includes three separate wings: Exhibition/Collection, Education/Administration, and the Auditorium, with an enclosed atrium linking the three wings in the center of the museum. It was announced in May 2008 that the museum would add 10000 square feet (929 m²) more exhibition space, a bistro, 18,000-volume library, expanded gift shop, and K-12 learning center, along with a complete refurbishment in a $7.5 million capital campaign, all of which was completed by spring 2010.
. During the event, participants are given an assigned "square" on pavement surrounding the museum (either Main Street or the museum parking lot) in which they are to draw with pastels a creation of their own.
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...
museum
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
located in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, Allen County
Allen County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 331,849 people, 128,745 households, and 86,259 families residing in the county. The population density was 505 people per square mile . There were 138,905 housing units at an average density of 211 per square mile...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, neighboring the Arts United Center. The Fort Wayne Museum of Art contains permanent collections and national traveling exhibitions and is accredited by 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...
.
History
The Fort Wayne Museum of Art was earliest conceived in 1888 when J. Ottis AdamsJ. Ottis Adams
J. Ottis Adams was an American impressionist painter and member of the Hoosier Group of Indiana painters.He spent his youth in Franklin, Shelbyville, and Martinsville, Indiana and attended Wabash College for two years....
, and later William Forsyth
William Forsyth (artist)
William J. Forsyth was an American Impressionist painter who was part of the "Hoosier Group" of Indiana artists.Forsyth was the first student of the Indiana School of Art in Indianapolis and entered the Munich Academy along with T. C. Steele and J. Ottis Adams in 1882...
, began teaching informal art classes. By the year 1897, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art School was formally organized from the art classes that had been in session for the past nine years. The function of "museum" was integrated into the school when a collection of ten paintings was donated by Theodore Thieme in 1921. By 1949, the B. Paul Mossman Home at 1202 West Wayne Street in downtown Fort Wayne was donated to the museum, giving the museum an entire facility for the first time in its history to showcase exhibitions and collections. In 1977, the museum separated from the art school, the latter becoming a department of IPFW
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne is the largest university in northern Indiana, United States, offering more than 200 Indiana University and Purdue University degrees and certificates. Since 1968, IPFW has conferred nearly 8,800 master’s degrees, 27,000 bachelor’s degrees, more...
. The Fort Wayne Museum of Art's current home is a structure that opened in 1984 at the intersection of Lafayette Street and Main Street in downtown Fort Wayne.
Facility
The current facility of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, designed by architect Walter NetschWalter Netsch
Walter Netsch was an American architect based in Chicago. He was most closely associated with the brutalist style of architecture, as well as the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. His signature aesthetic is known as Field Theory and is based on rotating squares into complex shapes...
of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, encompassing 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) and includes three separate wings: Exhibition/Collection, Education/Administration, and the Auditorium, with an enclosed atrium linking the three wings in the center of the museum. It was announced in May 2008 that the museum would add 10000 square feet (929 m²) more exhibition space, a bistro, 18,000-volume library, expanded gift shop, and K-12 learning center, along with a complete refurbishment in a $7.5 million capital campaign, all of which was completed by spring 2010.
Events
Annually since 1999, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art has hosted Chalk Walk, as part of the festivities offered during the Three Rivers FestivalThree Rivers Festival
The Three Rivers Festival is an annual festival held in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The festival's run spans nine days in mid-July, always starting on the first Saturday after Independence Day. It is a celebration of the heritage of Fort Wayne, established during the French and Indian War at the...
. During the event, participants are given an assigned "square" on pavement surrounding the museum (either Main Street or the museum parking lot) in which they are to draw with pastels a creation of their own.