Baltimore Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore
, Maryland
, United States
, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works of art—including the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world. It is located between the Charles Village
and Remington
neighborhoods, immediately adjacent to the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University
, though the museum is an independent institution not affiliated with the University.
The highlight of the museum is the Cone Collection, works by Matisse, Picasso, Cézanne, Manet
, Degas, Gauguin, van Gogh, and Renoir
, brought together by Baltimore sisters Claribel and Etta Cone.
Since Sunday, October 1, 2006, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum
have had free admission year-round as a result of grants given by Baltimore City and Baltimore County, excepting for special exhibitions.
The Baltimore Museum of Art is the site of Gertrude's Restaurant, owned and operated by chef John Shields
.
William-Sergeant Kendall's painting Mischief, donated by Dr. Dohme, was the first work of art accessioned by the new museum. Without a permanent site, the Peabody Institute
agreed to hold the museum's collection until a home was found. The group did try to get Henry Walters
to open his recently completed Italianate palazzo, which he had built as a showcase for his works of art, as the city's museum, when he refused, the committee began planning a permanent home for the museum. In 1916 they purchased a building on the southwest corner of Charles and Biddle Streets and employed an architect to remodel it, but it was never occupied. The group had decided in 1915 to locate the museum permanently in Wyman Park
, and by 1917 they had received a promise from Johns Hopkins University
for the land it currently occupies. Before moving into its permanent home in 1929, however, the museum temporarily moved to the Garrett house at 101 West Monument in July 1922. The house was offered by Miss M. Cary as a home for the "collections" and a meeting place for the board of trustees. Garrett house was acquired in 1925 by a group of art enthusiasts who bought the property for the purpose of keeping museum intact.The museum offered accommodations to art associations and a hall for meetings despite having limited space.
Meanwhile, back at Wyman Park, the architect John Russell Pope
was engaged to design the museum's permanent home, and the cornerstone was laid on October 20, 1927. The systems engineering for the building's original design was completed by Henry Adams (mechanical engineer)
. The building consists of three floors and includes several rooms that are replicated from six Maryland
historic houses. The building phase was marked by controversy over its location, cost, and the quality of workmanship, but on April 19, 1929, it opened on schedule without much fanfare. The first visitors were greeted by Rodin's
The Thinker
in the Sculpture Court and most of the objects on display were lent by Baltimore and Maryland collectors. An average of 584 visitors attended the museum each day during the first two months of its opening. When the Museum opened in 1929, the library was on the ground floor, equipped with shelves to house several thousand volumes, reading tables, and chairs. In 1983 the library was reinstalled in its current location, on the third floor of the Cone Wing.
Many of the objects lent to the museum when it opened were eventually donated to The Baltimore Museum of Art. Among the generous donors who have shaped the museum's collection are Blanche Adler, Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone, Jacob Epstein, Edward J. Gallagher, Jr., John W. and Robert Garrett, Mary Frick Jacobs, Ryda H. and Robert H. Levi, Saidie Adler May, Dorothy McIlvain Scott, Elsie C. Woodward, and Alan and Janet Wurtzburger
. The growing collection is reflected in three major expansions that occurred in the 1950s: the Saidie A. May Wing in 1950, the Woodward Wing in 1956, and the Cone Wing in 1957. The three additions were all designed by local architects Wrenn, Lewis and Jencks to harmonize with the original Pope Building.
Today, The Baltimore Museum of Art's permanent collection includes over 90,000 objects, making it the largest art museum in Maryland. It is governed by a private Board of Trustees and receives funding from the City of Baltimore, surrounding Counties, the State of Maryland, corporations and foundations, Federal agencies, Trustees, and private citizens. The Baltimore Museum of Art welcomes over 300,000 visitors annually. In addition to its impressive permanent collection, it is host to traveling exhibitions and serves as a major arts center through its program offerings.
Contemporary Art Galleries
The BMA's West Wing for Contemporary Art has 16 galleries that houses 20th and 21st Century art with holdings of abstract expressionism, minimalism, conceptual art and the late works belonging to Andy Warhol. The proposed changes are:
American Art Galleries
The BMA's American Art galleries are located in the historic John Russell Pope building that houses American paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative arts from the earliest times to the present. Nine galleries inside the 2nd floor of the Dorothy McIlvan Scott Wing will be renovated with the proposed changes:
African Art Collection/Gallery
The BMA's African Art collection of over 2,000 objects that spans from ancient Egypt all the way to contemporary Zimbabwe that also includes several objects that are identified as the best of their kind from west and central Africa is one of the earliest and most important collections in the U.S. The proposed changes for the African Art gallery are:
Visitor Amenities and Infrastructure
The BMA's 1982 East Wing Lobby will be renovated to have:
Proposed infrastructure renovations include:
Expansion of the Thalheimer Special Exhibition Galleries
The Thalheimer Special Exhibition Galleries will receive a 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) expansion to be built on top of the existing Thalheimer galleries as part of this project.
Current Renovation Schedule
The BMA had released the following projected renovation schedule in the press release however wanted to emphasize that the Museum will be open and operational during the renovation phase:
No proposed timeframe was given for the renovations to the East Wing Lobby, nor was one given for the two new roofs, the state-of-the-art building automation system and the 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) addition to the Thalheimer Special Exhibition Galleries.
. A large part of the collection was donated by Janet and Alan Wurtzburger in 1954. The collection contains more than 2,000 objects that span from ancient Egypt
to contemporary Zimbabwe
and includes works from many other cultures including Bamana, Yoruba
, Kuba
, Ndebele, and others. The collection includes many different forms of art including headdresses, masks, figures
, royal staffs, textiles, jewelry, ceremonial weapons, and pottery
. Several of the pieces are known for their use in royal courts, performances, and religious contexts, and many are internationally known.
Highlights of the collection include works by carvers Zlan
and Sonzanlwon and several figures by the legendary brasscaster Ldamie. Also on display are a Lozi
throne (c.1900) most likely carved in the court of King Lewanika of western Zambia
, a 20th-century Hausa Koranic prayer board, and a 2006 video work by Theo Eshetu.
, Rembrandt Peale
, and other members of the renowned Peale family; silver from Baltimore's prominent silver manufacturing company Samuel Kirk & Son; American Baltimore album quilts
; and painted furniture by John Finlay and Hugh Finlay of Baltimore.
The American painting collection at the museum ranges from 18th-century portraits and 19th-century landscape painting to American Impressionism and modernism with works by acclaimed artists John Singleton Copley
, Thomas Sully
, Thomas Eakins
, John Singer Sargent
, Childe Hassam
, and Thomas Hart Benton
. Notable canvases include A Wild Scene (1831–1832) by Thomas Cole
, La Vachère (1888) by Theodore Robinson
, and Pink Tulip (1926) by Georgia O’Keeffe. These are complemented by outstanding holdings of prints and drawings, as well as modern photographs from the Gallagher/Dalsheimer Collection. Artists represented include by Imogen Cunningham
, Man Ray
, Paul Strand
, and Alfred Stieglitz
.
The BMA has a long and distinguished record of collecting works by African-American artists that began in 1939 with one of the first exhibitions of African-American art in the country. This collection has grown substantially in recent years with the addition of more than 50 historical and contemporary works. Joshua Johnson
, Jacob Lawrence
, Edmonia Lewis
, Horace Pippin
, and Henry Ossawa Tanner
are included among the 19th- and 20th-century African-American artists.
The BMA’s holdings of American decorative arts include an extensive furniture collection that represents the major historic cabinetmaking centers of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City
, and Boston
. Many of these objects came from Miss Dorothy McIlvain Scott, a generous Baltimore philanthropist and collector.
A remarkable gift in 1933 by Mrs. Miles White, Jr. of over 200 stunning pieces of Maryland silver formed the nucleus of an impressive silver collection that now embraces objects by leading 18th- and early 19th-century silversmiths in Annapolis and Baltimore, as well as elegant examples of early English silver owned by Maryland families during the Federal era. Among them is the Annapolis Subscription Plate
, made by Annapolis silver smith John Inch and the oldest surviving silver object made in Maryland. Later masterworks by artists from Louis Comfort Tiffany
to Georg Jensen
are also on view.
Other notable aspects of the decorative arts collection include a rare set of five clerestory windows and two brilliant mosaic-clad architectural columns that represent Tiffany's lasting contribution to 20th-century ornament. Period rooms from six historic Maryland houses, along with architectural elements from other historic buildings, illustrate town and country building styles from the 18th and 19th centuries, and a dozen miniature rooms made by Chicago miniaturist Eugene Kupjack invite scrutiny of a variety of decorative styles at close range.
, the result of its participation in excavations of this ancient city, known today as Antakya
in southeastern Turkey
, near the border of Syria
.
With the support of BMA Trustee Robert Garrett, The Baltimore Museum of Art joined the Musées Nationaux de France, Worcester Art Museum
, and Princeton University
during the excavations of 1932 to 1939, discovering 300 magnificent mosaic pavements in and around the lost city. The BMA received some of the finest mosaics from the excavation, totaling 34 pavements, 28 of which are on display in the Museum’s sunlit atrium court.
Discovered in the affluent suburb of Daphne
and the nearby port city of Seleucia Pieria, the mosaics date from the days of the emperor Hadrian
in the 2nd century A.D. to the Christian empire of Justinian in the 6th century, bridging the Classical world and the early Middle Ages
. The mosaics illustrate how the classical art of Greece
and Rome
evolved into the art of the early Christian era and tell the story of how people lived in this ancient city prior to its destruction by catastrophic earthquakes in 526 and 528 A.D. The mosaics are notable for their grand scale and elaborately patterned borders, and the brilliance of their decorative and naturalistic effects.
and Maya
of Mesoamerica
, Chimú and Muisca
of Andean South America, and Nicoya
and Atlantic Watershed of Costa Rica
. The collection includes works from 2500 B.C. – A.D. 1521. The core collection of 120 objects was given to the museum by Alan Wurtzburger in 1958 which significantly expanded the scope of the existing collection and provided momentum for a traveling exhibition of Peruvian ceramics titled Myths of Ancient Peru (1969).
The collection is particularly admired for its West Mexico
ceramics including an important Nayarit house model and an enthroned chief. Also on display is a unique assemblage of 23 figures in dance regalia celebrates ancient performance and highlights the diversity of Colima art.
Other notable pieces include a finely worked serpentine figure of Olmec
mastery, elegant portrayals of Maya and Aztec noblewomen showcasing the integral roles women played in the social, political, economic, and spiritual realms of society, and miniature gold votives in the Muisca tradition.
and Polynesia
. Works in collection include a cross section of objects such as jewelry, ornaments, and tapa cloths.
Of notable interest is a finely carved lizard of dark wood and shell from Easter Island
, a battle pectoral created from hundreds of Nassa shells, which highlights Middi art of New Britain
, and an 18th century royal Hawaii
an necklace.
Other highlights of the collection include a breast ornament embellished with small birds and stars that figured as insignia of prestige for the Tonga
of the Fiji Islands. Featuring whale ivory and pearl shell design, it is recognized as one of the largest of its kind.
collection includes works from China
, Japan
, India
, Tibet
, Southeast Asia
, and the Near East
. The collection is particularly known for its Chinese ceramics, with a particular depth in mortuary wares from the Tang Dynasty
(618–907) and utilitarian stonewares from the 11th through the 13th centuries. Although more than 1,000 objects are comprised by this collection, due to limited space only a portion of the pieces are on display at one time. Works are on view in rotating installations in the museum's Julius Levy Memorial Gallery.
Some notable works in the collection include the life-sized early 15th century bronze Guanyin, known widely as "Goddess of Mercy"; the robust figure of a horse from a Han dynasty
tomb; a 39-piece mortuary retinue, a rare example of the quantities of clay figures that were placed in tombs during the early Tang dynasty; and an outstanding foliate-shaped brush washer that represents the mastery of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain
. Asian art is also represented in other areas of the museum's collection, including 475 Japanese prints and 1,000 textiles from across Asia.
Most of the collection was formed through generous donations made by private citicens of the city of Baltimore, notably Mary Frick Jacobs, George A. Lucas, and Jacob Epstein. The collection contains a large selection of 19th-century French art including more than 140 bronze animal sculptures by Antoine-Louis Barye
and several paintings by Barbizon
artists such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
and impressionist Camille Pissarro
.
The collection also includes a wide array of decorative arts, including jeweled snuffboxes, porcelain, and silver. The museum also exhibits a large collection of works on paper from the 15th through the 19th century.
Highlights of the European art exhibit include Sir Anthony van Dyck's Rinaldo and Armida (1629) which was commissioned by King Charles I of England
. It is considered one of the world’s finest paintings by the artist. Other masterworks of northern European and French art include Frans Hals
’ portrait Dorothea Berck (1644), Rembrandt van Rijn’s painting of his son Titus (1660), Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin’s portrayal of a lovely maiden tossing a ball in The Game of Knucklebones (c. 1734), and French court portraitist Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s exotic Princess Anna Alexandrovna Galitzin (c. 1797). Medieval and Renaissance works include a 14th-century Burgundian Virgin and Child carved of limestone and Titian
’s Portrait of a Gentleman (1561).
among other major artists of the era.
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works of art—including the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world. It is located between the Charles Village
Charles Village, Baltimore
Charles Village is a neighborhood located in the north-central area of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It is a middle-class area with many single-family homes that is in proximity to many of Baltimore's urban amenities. The neighborhood began in 1869 when of land were purchased for development...
and Remington
Remington, Baltimore
Remington is a neighborhood in northern Baltimore bordered to the north by Hampden, Wyman Park, and Johns Hopkins University and to the east by Charles Village. The southernmost boundary is North Avenue and the long southwestern boundary is formed by Falls Road in the I-83 corridor...
neighborhoods, immediately adjacent to the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, though the museum is an independent institution not affiliated with the University.
The highlight of the museum is the Cone Collection, works by Matisse, Picasso, Cézanne, Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
, Degas, Gauguin, van Gogh, and Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-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...
, brought together by Baltimore sisters Claribel and Etta Cone.
Since Sunday, October 1, 2006, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters , who began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American...
have had free admission year-round as a result of grants given by Baltimore City and Baltimore County, excepting for special exhibitions.
The Baltimore Museum of Art is the site of Gertrude's Restaurant, owned and operated by chef John Shields
John Shields (chef)
John Shields is an American chef, food writer, and host of the PBS television show Coastal Cooking with John Shields.Shields is a native of Baltimore, Maryland...
.
History
In 1904 a major fire destroyed much of the central part of the city of Baltimore. In response, the city government established a City-Wide Congress to develop a master plan for the city's recovery and future growth and development. The congress, headed by Dr. A.R.L. Dohme, decided among other things that a major deficiency of the city was the lack of an art museum. This decision led to the formation of an eighteen-person Committee on the Art Museum led by art dealer and industrialist Henry H. Wiegand as the Chairman. Ten years later, on November 16, 1914, the founders were incorporated.William-Sergeant Kendall's painting Mischief, donated by Dr. Dohme, was the first work of art accessioned by the new museum. Without a permanent site, the Peabody Institute
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
agreed to hold the museum's collection until a home was found. The group did try to get Henry Walters
Henry Walters
Henry Walters was president of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad until he retired in 1902. He was founder of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.-Biography:...
to open his recently completed Italianate palazzo, which he had built as a showcase for his works of art, as the city's museum, when he refused, the committee began planning a permanent home for the museum. In 1916 they purchased a building on the southwest corner of Charles and Biddle Streets and employed an architect to remodel it, but it was never occupied. The group had decided in 1915 to locate the museum permanently in Wyman Park
Wyman Park
The community of Wyman Park is a border community that links Hampden to Roland Park. All of the Wyman Park area was annexed to Baltimore City in 1888. The general boundaries consist of the area from south to north between 33rd Street and 40th Streets and west to east from Keswick Road to Wyman Park...
, and by 1917 they had received a promise from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
for the land it currently occupies. Before moving into its permanent home in 1929, however, the museum temporarily moved to the Garrett house at 101 West Monument in July 1922. The house was offered by Miss M. Cary as a home for the "collections" and a meeting place for the board of trustees. Garrett house was acquired in 1925 by a group of art enthusiasts who bought the property for the purpose of keeping museum intact.The museum offered accommodations to art associations and a hall for meetings despite having limited space.
Meanwhile, back at Wyman Park, the architect John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope was an architect most known for his designs of the National Archives and Records Administration building , the Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.-Biography:Pope was born in New York in 1874, the son of a successful...
was engaged to design the museum's permanent home, and the cornerstone was laid on October 20, 1927. The systems engineering for the building's original design was completed by Henry Adams (mechanical engineer)
Henry Adams (mechanical engineer)
Henry Adams was an American mechanical engineer. He emigrated at age 22 to Baltimore from Duisburg, Germany having been educated as a building engineer...
. The building consists of three floors and includes several rooms that are replicated from six Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
historic houses. The building phase was marked by controversy over its location, cost, and the quality of workmanship, but on April 19, 1929, it opened on schedule without much fanfare. The first visitors were greeted by Rodin's
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
The Thinker
The Thinker
The Thinker is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin, whose first cast, of 1902, is now in the Musée Rodin in Paris; there are some twenty other original castings as well as various other versions, studies, and posthumous castings. It depicts a man in sober meditation battling with a...
in the Sculpture Court and most of the objects on display were lent by Baltimore and Maryland collectors. An average of 584 visitors attended the museum each day during the first two months of its opening. When the Museum opened in 1929, the library was on the ground floor, equipped with shelves to house several thousand volumes, reading tables, and chairs. In 1983 the library was reinstalled in its current location, on the third floor of the Cone Wing.
Many of the objects lent to the museum when it opened were eventually donated to The Baltimore Museum of Art. Among the generous donors who have shaped the museum's collection are Blanche Adler, Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone, Jacob Epstein, Edward J. Gallagher, Jr., John W. and Robert Garrett, Mary Frick Jacobs, Ryda H. and Robert H. Levi, Saidie Adler May, Dorothy McIlvain Scott, Elsie C. Woodward, and Alan and Janet Wurtzburger
Alan Wurtzburger
Alan Wurtzburger was a collector of art and ethnographic objects and an important benefactor to the Baltimore Museum of Art....
. The growing collection is reflected in three major expansions that occurred in the 1950s: the Saidie A. May Wing in 1950, the Woodward Wing in 1956, and the Cone Wing in 1957. The three additions were all designed by local architects Wrenn, Lewis and Jencks to harmonize with the original Pope Building.
Today, The Baltimore Museum of Art's permanent collection includes over 90,000 objects, making it the largest art museum in Maryland. It is governed by a private Board of Trustees and receives funding from the City of Baltimore, surrounding Counties, the State of Maryland, corporations and foundations, Federal agencies, Trustees, and private citizens. The Baltimore Museum of Art welcomes over 300,000 visitors annually. In addition to its impressive permanent collection, it is host to traveling exhibitions and serves as a major arts center through its program offerings.
Architectural Master Plan Announced
On June 21, 2005, the Baltimore Museum of Art released a press release announcing a master plan that would chart the museum's architectural future for the next 20 years, the museum is currently approximately 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) in size. The master plan was created in cooperation between the Baltimore Museum of Art and Baltimore-based Ayers/Saint/Gross Architects + Planners. The master plan proposed the following:- Reopening the original Merrick Entrance.
- Connecting the galleries with a glass-enclosed atrium.
- Reinstalling the collections in new gallery spaces.
- A new North entrance for the BMA would create a direct connection to a JHU parking garage opened in 2007 and the expansion would provide space for new study centers, classrooms and a brand new library replacing the current one located on the third floor of the Cone Wing.
$24 Million Capital Renovation Project Announced
Nearly 5 years later, on June 15, 2010, the Baltimore Museum of Art released a press release announcing a $24 million multi-year renovation and partial expansion project starting in February 2011 and projected to end on the BMA's 100 anniversary in 2014. The capital renovation project the BMA is currently undertaking builds upon the successful $4 million renovation of the Cone Wing in 2001, and the $2 million renovation of the European Art galleries just two years later in 2003. While plans will be more fully developed once the BMA selects an architect in fall 2010, the press release revealed the following proposed changes to the building:Contemporary Art Galleries
The BMA's West Wing for Contemporary Art has 16 galleries that houses 20th and 21st Century art with holdings of abstract expressionism, minimalism, conceptual art and the late works belonging to Andy Warhol. The proposed changes are:
- State-of-the-art lighting in all 16 galleries to allow for changing displays of prints, drawings, and photography.
- A dedicated "black box" space to house works of new media and tech-based art being made currently.
American Art Galleries
The BMA's American Art galleries are located in the historic John Russell Pope building that houses American paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative arts from the earliest times to the present. Nine galleries inside the 2nd floor of the Dorothy McIlvan Scott Wing will be renovated with the proposed changes:
- Dedicate a gallery to highlight the BMA's works by glass designer Louis Comfort Tiffany.
- Dedicate a gallery to celebrate Maryland artists.
African Art Collection/Gallery
The BMA's African Art collection of over 2,000 objects that spans from ancient Egypt all the way to contemporary Zimbabwe that also includes several objects that are identified as the best of their kind from west and central Africa is one of the earliest and most important collections in the U.S. The proposed changes for the African Art gallery are:
- Organizing the collection by theme rather than geographically so visitors can more clearly make out cross-cultural connections.
- Displaying African masks, textiles, and other objects in ways that better represents their original scale and context.
Visitor Amenities and Infrastructure
The BMA's 1982 East Wing Lobby will be renovated to have:
- Improved visitor amenities.
- Updated BMA Shop (the BMA's gift shop).
Proposed infrastructure renovations include:
- Two new roofs.
- A state-of-the-art building automation system that will improve the climate in the museum's 10 interconnected buildings.
Expansion of the Thalheimer Special Exhibition Galleries
The Thalheimer Special Exhibition Galleries will receive a 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) expansion to be built on top of the existing Thalheimer galleries as part of this project.
Current Renovation Schedule
The BMA had released the following projected renovation schedule in the press release however wanted to emphasize that the Museum will be open and operational during the renovation phase:
- Contemporary galleries will close in February 2011 and reopen in 2012.
- Galleries in the Dorothy McIlvain Scott Wing will close in 2012 and expected to reopen in 2013.
- The African Art collection is expected to go off view in 2013 and reopen in 2014.
No proposed timeframe was given for the renovations to the East Wing Lobby, nor was one given for the two new roofs, the state-of-the-art building automation system and the 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) addition to the Thalheimer Special Exhibition Galleries.
African Art
The BMA was one of the first museum's in the United States to obtain a collection of African ArtAfrican art
African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of people, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African...
. A large part of the collection was donated by Janet and Alan Wurtzburger in 1954. The collection contains more than 2,000 objects that span from ancient Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to contemporary Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
and includes works from many other cultures including Bamana, Yoruba
Yoruba Culture
Yoruba culture refers to the idiosyncratic cultural norms of Yorubaland and the Yoruba people.-Sculpture:The Yoruba are said to be prolific sculptors, famous for their magnificent terra cotta works throughout the 12th and 14th century; artists also harnests their capacity in making artwork out of...
, Kuba
Kuba Kingdom
The Kuba Kingdom was a pre-colonial Central African state bordered by the Sankuru, Lulua, and Kasai rivers in the southeast of what is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, Ndebele, and others. The collection includes many different forms of art including headdresses, masks, figures
Figurine
A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
, royal staffs, textiles, jewelry, ceremonial weapons, and pottery
Pottery
Pottery 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...
. Several of the pieces are known for their use in royal courts, performances, and religious contexts, and many are internationally known.
Highlights of the collection include works by carvers Zlan
Žlan
Žlan is a small settlement in the Bohinj municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. It only has six houses and no longer has any permanent population.-External links:*...
and Sonzanlwon and several figures by the legendary brasscaster Ldamie. Also on display are a Lozi
Lozi people
The Lozi people are an ethnic group primarily of western Zambia, inhabiting the region of Barotseland. Lozi are also found in Namibia , Angola and Botswana.-Name:...
throne (c.1900) most likely carved in the court of King Lewanika of western Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, a 20th-century Hausa Koranic prayer board, and a 2006 video work by Theo Eshetu.
American Art
The BMA has one of the best collections of American Art in the world with works spanning from the colonial era to the late 20th century. The exhibit contains American paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts. The museum contains several works of Art from the Baltimore area including portraiture by Charles Willson PealeCharles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale was an American painter, soldier and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, as well as establishing one of the first museums....
, Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson...
, and other members of the renowned Peale family; silver from Baltimore's prominent silver manufacturing company Samuel Kirk & Son; American Baltimore album quilts
Baltimore album quilts
Baltimore Album Quilts originated in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1840s. They have become one of the most popular styles of quilts and are still made today. These quilts are made up of a number of squares called blocks. Each block has been appliquéd with a different design. The designs are often...
; and painted furniture by John Finlay and Hugh Finlay of Baltimore.
The American painting collection at the museum ranges from 18th-century portraits and 19th-century landscape painting to American Impressionism and modernism with works by acclaimed artists John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley was an American painter, born presumably in Boston, Massachusetts, and a son of Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Irish. He is famous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting in particular middle-class subjects...
, Thomas Sully
Thomas Sully
Thomas Sully was an American painter, mostly of portraits.-Early life:Sully was born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, to the actors Matthew and Sarah Sully. In March 1792 the Sullys and their nine children immigrated to Richmond, Virginia, where Thomas’s uncle managed a theater...
, Thomas Eakins
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
, Childe Hassam
Childe Hassam
Frederick 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 Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas 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...
. Notable canvases include A Wild Scene (1831–1832) by Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist. He is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century...
, La Vachère (1888) by Theodore Robinson
Theodore Robinson
Theodore Robinson was an American painter best known for his impressionist landscapes. He was one of the first American artists to take up impressionism in the late 1880s, visiting Giverny and developing a close friendship with Claude Monet...
, and Pink Tulip (1926) by Georgia O’Keeffe. These are complemented by outstanding holdings of prints and drawings, as well as modern photographs from the Gallagher/Dalsheimer Collection. Artists represented include by Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer known for her photography of botanicals, nudes and industry.-Life and career:...
, Man Ray
Man Ray
Man Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
, Paul Strand
Paul Strand
Paul Strand was an American photographer and filmmaker who, along with fellow modernist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century...
, and Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form...
.
The BMA has a long and distinguished record of collecting works by African-American artists that began in 1939 with one of the first exhibitions of African-American art in the country. This collection has grown substantially in recent years with the addition of more than 50 historical and contemporary works. Joshua Johnson
Joshua Johnson
Joshua Johnson was an American biracial painter from the Baltimore area. Johnson, often viewed as the first person of color to make a living as a painter in the United States, is known for his naïve paintings of prominent Maryland residents....
, Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence was an American painter; he was married to fellow artist Gwendolyn Knight. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", though by his own account the primary influence was not so much French art as the shapes and colors of Harlem.Lawrence is among the best-known twentieth...
, Edmonia Lewis
Edmonia Lewis
Mary Edmonia Lewis was the first African American and Native American woman to gain fame and recognition as a sculptor in the international fine arts world...
, Horace Pippin
Horace Pippin
Horace Pippin was a self-taught African-American painter. The injustice of slavery and American segregation figure prominently in many of his works.-Biography:...
, and Henry Ossawa Tanner
Henry Ossawa Tanner
Henry Ossawa Tanner was an African American artist best known for his style of painting. He was the first African American painter to gain international acclaim.-Education:...
are included among the 19th- and 20th-century African-American artists.
The BMA’s holdings of American decorative arts include an extensive furniture collection that represents the major historic cabinetmaking centers of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Many of these objects came from Miss Dorothy McIlvain Scott, a generous Baltimore philanthropist and collector.
A remarkable gift in 1933 by Mrs. Miles White, Jr. of over 200 stunning pieces of Maryland silver formed the nucleus of an impressive silver collection that now embraces objects by leading 18th- and early 19th-century silversmiths in Annapolis and Baltimore, as well as elegant examples of early English silver owned by Maryland families during the Federal era. Among them is the Annapolis Subscription Plate
Annapolis Subscription Plate
The Annapolis Subscription Plate is the name given both to the first recorded formal horse race in colonial Maryland and to the silver trophy awarded to the winner of the race...
, made by Annapolis silver smith John Inch and the oldest surviving silver object made in Maryland. Later masterworks by artists from Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
to Georg Jensen
Georg Jensen
Georg Arthur Jensen was a Danish silversmith.Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife grinder in the town of Raadvad just to the north of Copenhagen. Jensen began his training in goldsmithing at the age of 14 in Copenhagen...
are also on view.
Other notable aspects of the decorative arts collection include a rare set of five clerestory windows and two brilliant mosaic-clad architectural columns that represent Tiffany's lasting contribution to 20th-century ornament. Period rooms from six historic Maryland houses, along with architectural elements from other historic buildings, illustrate town and country building styles from the 18th and 19th centuries, and a dozen miniature rooms made by Chicago miniaturist Eugene Kupjack invite scrutiny of a variety of decorative styles at close range.
Antioch Mosaics
The BMA exhibits a distinquished collection of Antioch mosaicsAntioch mosaics
The Antioch mosaics are a grouping of over 300 mosaic floors created around the 3rd century AD, and discovered during archaeological excavations of Antioch between 1932 and 1939 by a consortium of five museums and institutions...
, the result of its participation in excavations of this ancient city, known today as Antakya
Antakya
Antakya is the seat of the Hatay Province in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria. The mayor is Lütfü Savaş.Known as Antioch in ancient times, the city has historical significance for Christianity, as it was the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians for the first...
in southeastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, near the border of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
With the support of BMA Trustee Robert Garrett, The Baltimore Museum of Art joined the Musées Nationaux de France, Worcester Art Museum
Worcester Art Museum
The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 35,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day, representing cultures from all over the world. The WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is the second largest art museum in New England...
, and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
during the excavations of 1932 to 1939, discovering 300 magnificent mosaic pavements in and around the lost city. The BMA received some of the finest mosaics from the excavation, totaling 34 pavements, 28 of which are on display in the Museum’s sunlit atrium court.
Discovered in the affluent suburb of Daphne
Daphne
Daphne was a female minor nature deity. Pursued by Apollo, she fled and was chased. Daphne begged the gods for help, who then transformed her into Laurel.-Overview:...
and the nearby port city of Seleucia Pieria, the mosaics date from the days of the emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
in the 2nd century A.D. to the Christian empire of Justinian in the 6th century, bridging the Classical world and the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The mosaics illustrate how the classical art of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
evolved into the art of the early Christian era and tell the story of how people lived in this ancient city prior to its destruction by catastrophic earthquakes in 526 and 528 A.D. The mosaics are notable for their grand scale and elaborately patterned borders, and the brilliance of their decorative and naturalistic effects.
Art of the Ancient Americas
This collection contains works from 59 distinct artistic traditions from AztecAztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
and Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
of Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
, Chimú and Muisca
Muisca
Muisca was the Chibcha-speaking tribe that formed the Muisca Confederation of the central highlands of present-day Colombia. They were encountered by the Spanish Empire in 1537, at the time of the conquest...
of Andean South America, and Nicoya
Nicoya
Nicoya is a town in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province, and one of its most important tourist zones. It serves as a transport hub to Guanacaste's beaches and national parks. According to the 2000 census, the city's population was 13,334—second only to Liberia in the province...
and Atlantic Watershed of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. The collection includes works from 2500 B.C. – A.D. 1521. The core collection of 120 objects was given to the museum by Alan Wurtzburger in 1958 which significantly expanded the scope of the existing collection and provided momentum for a traveling exhibition of Peruvian ceramics titled Myths of Ancient Peru (1969).
The collection is particularly admired for its West Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
ceramics including an important Nayarit house model and an enthroned chief. Also on display is a unique assemblage of 23 figures in dance regalia celebrates ancient performance and highlights the diversity of Colima art.
Other notable pieces include a finely worked serpentine figure of Olmec
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
mastery, elegant portrayals of Maya and Aztec noblewomen showcasing the integral roles women played in the social, political, economic, and spiritual realms of society, and miniature gold votives in the Muisca tradition.
Art of the Pacific Islands
This exihibit includes artwork from several cultural traditions of the Pacific Islands including those of MelanesiaMelanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
and Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
. Works in collection include a cross section of objects such as jewelry, ornaments, and tapa cloths.
Of notable interest is a finely carved lizard of dark wood and shell from Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
, a battle pectoral created from hundreds of Nassa shells, which highlights Middi art of New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
, and an 18th century royal Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an necklace.
Other highlights of the collection include a breast ornament embellished with small birds and stars that figured as insignia of prestige for the Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
of the Fiji Islands. Featuring whale ivory and pearl shell design, it is recognized as one of the largest of its kind.
Asian art
The museum's Asian artAsian art
Asian art can refer to art amongst many cultures in Asia.-Various types of Asian art:*Afghan art*Azerbaijanian art*Balinese art*Bhutanese art*Buddhist art*Burmese contemporary art*Chinese art*Eastern art*Indian art*Iranian art*Islamic art...
collection includes works from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, and the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
. The collection is particularly known for its Chinese ceramics, with a particular depth in mortuary wares from the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(618–907) and utilitarian stonewares from the 11th through the 13th centuries. Although more than 1,000 objects are comprised by this collection, due to limited space only a portion of the pieces are on display at one time. Works are on view in rotating installations in the museum's Julius Levy Memorial Gallery.
Some notable works in the collection include the life-sized early 15th century bronze Guanyin, known widely as "Goddess of Mercy"; the robust figure of a horse from a Han dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
tomb; a 39-piece mortuary retinue, a rare example of the quantities of clay figures that were placed in tombs during the early Tang dynasty; and an outstanding foliate-shaped brush washer that represents the mastery of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
. Asian art is also represented in other areas of the museum's collection, including 475 Japanese prints and 1,000 textiles from across Asia.
European Art
The European Art collection at the BMA contains works from the 15th through 19th-centuries.Most of the collection was formed through generous donations made by private citicens of the city of Baltimore, notably Mary Frick Jacobs, George A. Lucas, and Jacob Epstein. The collection contains a large selection of 19th-century French art including more than 140 bronze animal sculptures by Antoine-Louis Barye
Antoine-Louis Barye
Antoine-Louis Barye was a French sculptor most famous for his work as an animalier, a sculptor of animals.-Biography:Born in Paris, Barye began his career as a goldsmith, like many sculptors of the Romantic Period...
and several paintings by Barbizon
Barbizon
Barbizon is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest.-Art history:The Barbizon school of painters is named after the village; Théodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet, leaders of the school, made their homes and died in the...
artists such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was a French landscape painter and printmaker in etching. Corot was the leading painter of the Barbizon school of France in the mid-nineteenth century...
and impressionist Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
.
The collection also includes a wide array of decorative arts, including jeweled snuffboxes, porcelain, and silver. The museum also exhibits a large collection of works on paper from the 15th through the 19th century.
Highlights of the European art exhibit include Sir Anthony van Dyck's Rinaldo and Armida (1629) which was commissioned by King Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. It is considered one of the world’s finest paintings by the artist. Other masterworks of northern European and French art include 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...
’ portrait Dorothea Berck (1644), Rembrandt van Rijn’s painting of his son Titus (1660), Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin’s portrayal of a lovely maiden tossing a ball in The Game of Knucklebones (c. 1734), and French court portraitist Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s exotic Princess Anna Alexandrovna Galitzin (c. 1797). Medieval and Renaissance works include a 14th-century Burgundian Virgin and Child carved of limestone and Titian
Titian
Tiziano 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...
’s Portrait of a Gentleman (1561).
Cone collection
The Cone collection was the work of the Cone sisters, Claribel and Etta Cone, who in the early 20th century set out to acquire as much as they could of the work of artists such as Matisse and Picasso especially, and also Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and RenoirRenoir
-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...
among other major artists of the era.
See also
- Walters Art MuseumWalters Art MuseumThe Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters , who began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American...
, a public art museum in Baltimore - Claribel ConeClaribel ConeThe Cone sisters were Claribel Cone and Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland. Together they gathered one of the finest collections of modern French art in the United States. They were wealthy socialites during the Gilded Age.-Early life:Their parents were Herman Cone and Helen Cone, who were...
, donator, Cone Collection
Further reading
- Flam, Jack. Matisse in the Cone Collection, Baltimore Museum of Art, 2001 ISBN 0-912298-73-1
- Dackerman, Susan Painted Prints: The Revelation of Color in Northern Renaissance and Baroque Engravings, Etchings, and Woodcuts, Baltimore Museum of Art, 2002 ISBN 0-271-02235-3