Joslyn Art Museum
Encyclopedia
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in the state of Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, United States of America. Located in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, it is the only museum in the state with a comprehensive permanent collection. Although it includes works from antiquity to the present day, its greatest strengths are in 19th and 20th century American
Visual arts of the United States
American art encompasses the history of painting and visual art in the United States. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, artists primarily painted landscapes and portraits in a realistic style. A parallel development taking shape in rural America was the American craft movement,...
and European art.
History
The museum opened in 1931, a gift to the people of Omaha from Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, George A. Joslyn. It occupies a large and impressive Art DecoArt Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
building designed by John and Alan McDonald, constructed of Georgia Pink marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, with 38 different marbles from all over the world in the interior, close to downtown Omaha. The decorative panels on the exterior were designed by sculptor John David Brcin and refer to the peoples of the plains - the original Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
inhabitants and the later European explorers and settlers. Inscriptions carved on the building were written by Hartley Burr Alexander
Hartley Burr Alexander
Hartley Burr Alexander, Ph.D American philosopher, writer, educator, scholar, poet, and iconographer born Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 9, 1873.-Family and early years:...
. A substantial extension, designed by Lord Norman Foster, opened in 1994. In 2008, construction began on the Joslyn Sculpture Garden. It opened in summer 2009 in time for the annual Jazz on the Green festival. The Garden features work from local and national artists as well as a reflecting pool and waterfall. The garden is now host to the annual Jazz on the Green festival, held every summer for the past 25 years in July and August. The festival lasts for 8 weeks and features local, regional, and national jazz musicians. The event is free and draws thousands of spectators who can come and sit and bring a bottle of wine and snacks to enjoy. As of 2010, Omaha Performing Arts has taken over the event and moved it to the park in the Midtown Crossing at Turner Park
Midtown Crossing at Turner Park
Midtown Crossing at Turner Park is a million square-foot, seven-building, mixed-use development located in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Its borders are 31st to 33rd streets and Dodge to Harney streets...
development to better accommodate the growing event.
Collections
The permanent collections are:- Ancient, including an exceptional collection of GreekGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
potteryPotteryPottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery... - European: 16th and 17th century works include paintings by VeronesePaolo VeronesePaolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...
, TitianTitianTiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, Claude LorrainClaude LorrainClaude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French Claude Gellée, , dit le Lorrain) Claude Lorrain, , traditionally just Claude in English (also Claude Gellée, his real name, or in French...
and El GrecoEl GrecoEl Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
. However the strongest collections are from the 19th century, including romanticRomanticismRomanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
works by DelacroixEugène DelacroixFerdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
and Gustave DoréGustave DoréPaul Gustave Doré was a French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving.-Biography:...
, realistRealism (arts)Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
works by Corot and Gustave CourbetGustave CourbetJean 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...
, and an impressionistImpressionismImpressionism 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...
works by Degas, Monet, Pissarro, and RenoirPierre-Auguste RenoirPierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to... - American: the collection includes early American portraitPortraitthumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
ure by James PealeJames PealeJames Peale was an American painter, best known for his miniature and still life paintings, and a younger brother of noted painter Charles Willson Peale....
and Mather BrownMather BrownMather Brown was a portrait and historical painter, born in Boston, Massachusetts, but active in England....
; many works by painters of the Hudson River SchoolHudson River schoolThe Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...
, realist works by Winslow HomerWinslow HomerWinslow 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....
and Thomas EakinsThomas EakinsThomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
, and works by the American impressionists Childe HassamChilde HassamFrederick Childe Hassam was a prolific American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionism to American collectors, dealers, and museums...
and William Merritt ChaseWilliam Merritt ChaseWilliam Merritt Chase was an American painter known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons The New School for Design.- Early life and training :He was born in Williamsburg , Indiana, to the family... - Western American: including important collections of work by the Swiss artist Karl BodmerKarl BodmerKarl Bodmer was a Swiss painter of the American West. He accompanied German explorer Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied from 1832 through 1834 on his Missouri River expedition...
based on his 1832-34 journey to the Missouri RiverMissouri RiverThe Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
frontier, and by Alfred Jacob MillerAlfred Jacob MillerAlfred Jacob Miller was an American painter and sketcher best known for his paintings concerning the northwestern United States.-Life:...
, also illustrating the West of the 1830s. - Native American: including both traditional works and work done under the influence of, or in reaction against, European conventions and training.
- Twentieth Century: a wide range of 20th century painting and sculpture is represented, including paintings by Henri MatisseHenri MatisseHenri 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...
, Stuart DavisStuart Davis (painter)Stuart Davis , was an early American modernist painter. He was well known for his jazz influenced, proto pop art paintings of the 1940s and 1950s, bold, brash, and colorful as well as his ashcan pictures in the early years of the 20th century.-Biography:He was born in Philadelphia to Edward Wyatt...
, Theodore RoszakTheodore Roszak (artist)Theodore Roszak was an American sculptor and painter. He was born in Posen, Prussia , now Poznań, Poland, as a son of Polish parents, and emigrated to the United States at the age of two...
, John SloanJohn French SloanJohn French Sloan was an American artist. As a member of The Eight, he became a leading figure in the Ashcan School of realist artists. He was known for his urban genre painting and ability to capture the essence of neighborhood life in New York City, often through his window...
and Robert HenriRobert HenriRobert Henri was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art.- Early life :...
, and sculpture by Deborah ButterfieldDeborah ButterfieldDeborah Kay Butterfield is an American sculptor. She divides her time between a ranch in Bozeman, Montana and studio space in Hawaii...
, Robert Haozous, Donald JuddDonald JuddDonald Clarence Judd was an American artist associated with minimalism . In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy...
, Sol LeWittSol LeWittSolomon "Sol" LeWitt was an American artist linked to various movements, including Conceptual art and Minimalism....
and Martin PuryearMartin PuryearMartin Puryear is an African American sculptor. He works in media including wood, stone, tar, and wire, and his work is a union of minimalism and traditional crafts.-Life:...
. The collection stresses significant American artistic movements, including regionalismRegionalism (art)Regionalism is an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s. The artistic focus was from artists who shunned city life, and rapidly developing technological advances, to create scenes of rural life...
(with paintings by Grant WoodGrant WoodGrant DeVolson Wood was an American painter, born four miles east of Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.- Life and career :His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his...
and Thomas Hart BentonThomas 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...
) and Abstract ExpressionismAbstract expressionismAbstract 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...
(with work by Jackson PollockJackson PollockPaul 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...
, Hans HofmannHans HofmannHans Hofmann was a German-born American abstract expressionist painter.-Biography:Hofmann was born in Weißenburg, Bavaria on March 21, 1880, the son of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann. When he was six he moved with his family to Munich...
, and Helen FrankenthalerHelen FrankenthalerHelen Frankenthaler is an American abstract expressionist painter. She is a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work in six decades she has spanned several generations of abstract painters while continuing to produce vital and ever-changing new work...
) and Pop ArtPop artPop 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...
(with work by George SegalGeorge Segal (artist)George Segal was an American painter and sculptor associated with the Pop Art movement. He was presented with a National Medal of Arts in 1999.-Works:...
and Tom WesselmannTom WesselmannTom Wesselmann was an American artist associated with the Pop art movement who worked in painting, collage and sculpture.-Early years:...
).
Although the best known names appear in the European and American collections, it is probably the Western American and Native American collections that have the greatest importance as collections, allowing a rare opportunity to study these genres and periods of art as well as giving an important insight into the history of the western United States.
In addition to its permanent collections, the museum mounts regular special exhibitions. It also serves as an important regional educational and artistic resource, and its building includes an auditorium where regular concerts are held.