Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art is an art museum located on the campus of Northwestern University
in Evanston
, Illinois
. The Block Museum was established in 1980 by Chicago
art collectors Mary and Leigh B. Block (former vice president of Inland Steel Company
). The original conception of the museum was modeled on the German kunsthalle
tradition, with no permanent collection, and a series of changing temporary exhibits. However, the Block Museum soon began to acquire a permanent collection as the University transferred many of its art pieces to the museum.
ure firm Loebl, Schlossman, and Hackl. The Block's outdoor sculpture garden
was established in 1989. The museum building was expanded in 2000, with a design by Chicago architectural firm Lohan Associates. The 2000 expansion tripled the museum's gallery size. The museum's Pick-Laudati Auditorium is also home to the Block Cinema, a repertory film series featuring international, classic and arthouse cinema. The selection of films at Block Cinema is curated in part by students in the Northwestern University Film and Projection Society.
and drawing
s and photography
. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum still dedicates one third of its space to temporary and traveling exhibitions.
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The Block Museum was established in 1980 by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
art collectors Mary and Leigh B. Block (former vice president of Inland Steel Company
Inland Steel Company
The Inland Steel Company was a U.S. steel company active in 1893-1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois at the landmark Inland Steel Building....
). The original conception of the museum was modeled on the German kunsthalle
Kunsthalle
Kunsthalle is, generally, in German speaking regions a term for a facility mounting temporary art exhibitions. Some are run or supported by a local Kunstverein, an art association of local collectors and artists...
tradition, with no permanent collection, and a series of changing temporary exhibits. However, the Block Museum soon began to acquire a permanent collection as the University transferred many of its art pieces to the museum.
Museum building
The museum building was constructed in 1980 and was designed by Chicago architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
ure firm Loebl, Schlossman, and Hackl. The Block's outdoor sculpture garden
Sculpture garden
A sculpture garden is an outdoor garden dedicated to the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings....
was established in 1989. The museum building was expanded in 2000, with a design by Chicago architectural firm Lohan Associates. The 2000 expansion tripled the museum's gallery size. The museum's Pick-Laudati Auditorium is also home to the Block Cinema, a repertory film series featuring international, classic and arthouse cinema. The selection of films at Block Cinema is curated in part by students in the Northwestern University Film and Projection Society.
Collections
The museum currently has over 4,000 pieces in its collection. The museum is particularly known for its sculpture garden as well as its collection of works on paper. Among its collections are strong holdings of works by Chicago-based artists, nineteenth-century printsPrintmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
and drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum still dedicates one third of its space to temporary and traveling exhibitions.
Collection highlights
- Jasper JohnsJasper JohnsJasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking.-Life:Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns spent his early life in Allendale, South Carolina with his paternal grandparents after his parents' marriage failed...
, Decoy, 1971 - Max BeckmannMax BeckmannMax Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement...
, On the Streetcar, 1922 - Barbara HepworthBarbara HepworthDame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
, Two Forms, 1969 - Jean ArpJean ArpJean Arp / Hans Arp was a German-French, or Alsatian, sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist in other media such as torn and pasted paper....
, Feuille Se Reposant (Resting Leaf), 1959 - Joan MiróJoan MiróJoan 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...
, Monument Dresse En Plein Ocean a La Gloire du Vent, 1967 and Constellation, 1971 - Chuck CloseChuck CloseCharles Thomas "Chuck" Close is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, through his massive-scale portraits...
, Alex/Reduction Block, 1993