Taft Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
The Taft Museum of Art is a house museum in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio
. The building which houses the museum was built as a villa on the edge of Cincinnati about 1820 for Martin Baum
and then was the residence of Nicholas Longworth
. David Sinton
lived in the house with his daughter Anna, who married Charles Phelps Taft
, the half-brother of President William Howard Taft
. The Tafts lived in the house from 1873 until 1929. William H. Taft accepted his presidential nomination here in 1908. http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=cincinnati@50&cur_section=sig&property_id=284204 The Tafts were avid art collectors. They turned their home into a museum, and donated their Greek Revival house and the collection of art that filled it to the people of Cincinnati in 1927. In the Tafts' deed of gift they stated, "We desire to devote our collection of pictures, porcelains, and other works of art to the people of Cincinnati in such a manner that they may be readily available for all."
The museum's collections include European old master paintings, with works by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Thomas Gainsborough
, Frans Hals
, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
, and Adriaen van Ostade
, among others, and 19th-century American paintings, including the well known mural
s by Robert Duncanson
. The galleries in the historic house also include Chinese porcelains, European decorative arts, Limoges
enamels, watches, sculptures, and furniture.
Collection highlights:
The museum reopened in May 2004 after an extensive renovation. The expansion includes a museum shop, the Carl H. Lindner Family Café, and a lecture and performance space, Luther Hall.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. The building which houses the museum was built as a villa on the edge of Cincinnati about 1820 for Martin Baum
Martin Baum
Martin Baum was an American businessman and politician.The son of German immigrants Jacob Baum and Magdalena Elizabeth Kershner, Baum fought with General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.After settling in Cincinnati, Baum became active in civic affairs, and was elected mayor in 1807...
and then was the residence of Nicholas Longworth
Nicholas Longworth
Nicholas Longworth IV was a prominent American politician in the Republican Party during the first few decades of the 20th century...
. David Sinton
David Sinton
David Sinton was a pig-iron industrialist, born in County Armagh, Ireland, who became one of the wealthiest men in America....
lived in the house with his daughter Anna, who married Charles Phelps Taft
Charles Phelps Taft
Charles Phelps Taft I was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:He was born on December 21, 1843 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Alphonso Taft, and his brother was President William Howard Taft....
, the half-brother of President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
. The Tafts lived in the house from 1873 until 1929. William H. Taft accepted his presidential nomination here in 1908. http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=cincinnati@50&cur_section=sig&property_id=284204 The Tafts were avid art collectors. They turned their home into a museum, and donated their Greek Revival house and the collection of art that filled it to the people of Cincinnati in 1927. In the Tafts' deed of gift they stated, "We desire to devote our collection of pictures, porcelains, and other works of art to the people of Cincinnati in such a manner that they may be readily available for all."
The museum's collections include European old master paintings, with works by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
, 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...
, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a French Neoclassical painter. Although he considered himself to be a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres's portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognized as his greatest...
, and Adriaen van Ostade
Adriaen van Ostade
Adriaen van Ostade was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre works.-Life:...
, among others, and 19th-century American paintings, including the well known mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s by Robert 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...
. The galleries in the historic house also include Chinese porcelains, European decorative arts, Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
enamels, watches, sculptures, and furniture.
Collection highlights:
- Frank DuveneckFrank DuveneckFrank 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...
, The Cobbler's Apprentice, 1877. - Henry Farny, Song of the Talking Wire, 1904.
- Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair, 1633.
- J. M. W. TurnerJ. M. W. TurnerJoseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
, EuropaEuropa (mythology)In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The name Europa occurs in Hesiod's long list of daughters of primordial Oceanus and Tethys...
and the Bull, ca. 1840-50. - James Abbott McNeill Whistler, At the Piano, 1858-59.
- Virgin and Child, Paris, Abbey of Saint-Denis, ca. 1260-80.
- Frans HalsFrans HalsFrans 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...
, "Portrait of Seated Man Holding Hat", - Gerard Terborch's "Sleeping Soldier"
- Jeronymus Van DiestJeronymus van DiestHieronymus, or Jeronymus van Diest , was a Dutch Golden Age seascape painter.-Biography:According to Houbraken, a Jeronymus van Diest was good with grisailles and was the teacher of Adriaen van de Venne...
's "Sailboats On River with Fisherman", - CorotCorotCorot 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...
's "Evening:Festival of Pan", - Charles Daubigny's "Evening on Oise"
- An appreciable collection of Limoges enamelLimoges enamelLimoges enamel was produced at Limoges, France, already the most famous, but not the most high quality, European center of vitreous enamel production by the 12th century; its works were known as Opus de Limogia or Labor Limogiae...
paintings .
The museum reopened in May 2004 after an extensive renovation. The expansion includes a museum shop, the Carl H. Lindner Family Café, and a lecture and performance space, Luther Hall.
