Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Encyclopedia
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is a museum
located in Montgomery
, Alabama
, USA, featuring several art collections. For seventy years, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts has been a showcase for the visual arts in Central Alabama. Permanent collection includes examples of 19th- and 20th-century American painting
s and sculpture
, Southern regional art, Old Master print
s and decorative arts. Also home to ARTWORKS, a participatory art gallery and studio for children.
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts was designed by the Montgomery architectural firm of Barganier, Davis, and Sims and opened in 1988. An addition was completed in 1993.http://blountculturalpark.org/general_info.html
in June 1978. The Museum moved to its current home, a state-of-the-art facility in the Blount Cultural Park, in 1988. As one of the leading cultural institutions in the region, the Museum has enjoyed substantial public support, annually growing attendance, and increasing public demand for its programs and educational resources.
The Museum's permanent collection is one of the finest in the Southeast. The principal holdings of American paintings, sculpture, and works on paper represent the work of artists of national as well as regional reputation, and from all ethnic backgrounds. The core of the American collection is the outstanding Blount Collection of American Art, a group of
41 paintings, including works by American masters John Singer Sargent
, Edward Hopper
, and Winslow Homer
. The MMFA boasts a stellar collection of Old Master prints, including works by Rembrandt, Dürer, and Whistler
. The Museum hosts a broad range of temporary exhibitions to enhance its offerings with art from international and American collections as well as works by contemporary artists.
Education based on its collection and exhibitions is at the heart of the Museum's public mission. The MMFA's art reference library has more than 4,000 volumes, periodicals, videotapes, and CDs, available to those needing information or doing research. One major component of the education program is ARTWORKS
, an interactive gallery designed to interpret items from the Museum's permanent collection through hands-on exhibits. The ARTWORKS gallery is a major draw for families and attracts over 60,000 people each year. Other programs for youth include a preschool puppet show; a tour program for every third grade student in Montgomery Public Schools
; after school programs for underserved youth, and the AP Art History Course that allows high school students to earn college credit. In addition to ongoing programs, the MMFA offers two major events for families each year, Holiday Open House and the spring Flimp Festival. Educational programming for all ages is offered through workshops, tours, lectures, and other activities. From an annual attendance of 160,000 visitors, the Museum estimates that roughly half of its visitors participate in an educational offering.
The MMFA receives approximately two-thirds of its annual budget from the City and County of Montgomery with the remainder provided through the MMFA Association, a private support group. Corporate and individual memberships comprise the largest source of MMFA Association revenue. Additional income is generated through the Museum Shop, special events, catalogue sales and program fees. The Museum recently completed an $8 million capital campaign for endowment and building expansion. The new Education Wing, dedicated in March 2007, provided much-needed gallery space and doubled the size of the ARTWORKS interactive gallery and studio space. This expansion will allow the Museum to more fully accommodate the demands of growing public interest.
Now in its 75th year, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is the jewel of the cultural arts in Montgomery and flourishes with the successful partnership of the public and private sectors.
The museum is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museums
program.
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...
located in Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, USA, featuring several art collections. For seventy years, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts has been a showcase for the visual arts in Central Alabama. Permanent collection includes examples of 19th- and 20th-century American painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s and sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, Southern regional art, Old Master print
Old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition . A date of about 1830 is usually taken as marking the end of the period whose prints are covered by this term. The main techniques concerned are woodcut, engraving and etching, although there are...
s and decorative arts. Also home to ARTWORKS, a participatory art gallery and studio for children.
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts was designed by the Montgomery architectural firm of Barganier, Davis, and Sims and opened in 1988. An addition was completed in 1993.http://blountculturalpark.org/general_info.html
History
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1930 with the mission "to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art of the highest quality for the enrichment, enlightenment, and enjoyment of its public."http://www.montgomeryal.gov/1163.aspx The Museum is the oldest fine arts museum in Alabama and was the first museum in Alabama to be accredited by the American Association of MuseumsAmerican Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...
in June 1978. The Museum moved to its current home, a state-of-the-art facility in the Blount Cultural Park, in 1988. As one of the leading cultural institutions in the region, the Museum has enjoyed substantial public support, annually growing attendance, and increasing public demand for its programs and educational resources.
The Museum's permanent collection is one of the finest in the Southeast. The principal holdings of American paintings, sculpture, and works on paper represent the work of artists of national as well as regional reputation, and from all ethnic backgrounds. The core of the American collection is the outstanding Blount Collection of American Art, a group of
41 paintings, including works by American masters 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...
, Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
, and Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer
Winslow 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....
. The MMFA boasts a stellar collection of Old Master prints, including works by Rembrandt, Dürer, and Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
. The Museum hosts a broad range of temporary exhibitions to enhance its offerings with art from international and American collections as well as works by contemporary artists.
Education based on its collection and exhibitions is at the heart of the Museum's public mission. The MMFA's art reference library has more than 4,000 volumes, periodicals, videotapes, and CDs, available to those needing information or doing research. One major component of the education program is ARTWORKS
Artworks
ArtWorks is an advanced vector drawing package for RISC OS created by Computer Concepts in 1991. It has been developed by MW Software since 1996. Xara has continued to develop a Windows version called Xara Photo & Graphic Designer....
, an interactive gallery designed to interpret items from the Museum's permanent collection through hands-on exhibits. The ARTWORKS gallery is a major draw for families and attracts over 60,000 people each year. Other programs for youth include a preschool puppet show; a tour program for every third grade student in Montgomery Public Schools
Montgomery Public Schools
Montgomery Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. The district serves the city of Montgomery and surrounding Montgomery County...
; after school programs for underserved youth, and the AP Art History Course that allows high school students to earn college credit. In addition to ongoing programs, the MMFA offers two major events for families each year, Holiday Open House and the spring Flimp Festival. Educational programming for all ages is offered through workshops, tours, lectures, and other activities. From an annual attendance of 160,000 visitors, the Museum estimates that roughly half of its visitors participate in an educational offering.
The MMFA receives approximately two-thirds of its annual budget from the City and County of Montgomery with the remainder provided through the MMFA Association, a private support group. Corporate and individual memberships comprise the largest source of MMFA Association revenue. Additional income is generated through the Museum Shop, special events, catalogue sales and program fees. The Museum recently completed an $8 million capital campaign for endowment and building expansion. The new Education Wing, dedicated in March 2007, provided much-needed gallery space and doubled the size of the ARTWORKS interactive gallery and studio space. This expansion will allow the Museum to more fully accommodate the demands of growing public interest.
Now in its 75th year, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is the jewel of the cultural arts in Montgomery and flourishes with the successful partnership of the public and private sectors.
The museum is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museums
North American Reciprocal Museums
The North American Reciprocal Museums program is a consortium of museums in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, El Salvador and Mexico which offers benefits to museum membership holders in more than 530 institutions...
program.
Hudson and Krenshaw Galleries
- Jacques AmansJacques AmansJacques Guillaume Lucien Amans was a Frenchneoclassical portrait painter working in New Orleans in the 1840s and 1850s.Amans was born in Maastricht, a Belgian city at the time. His father, Paul Serge AMANS, born in Narbonne in 1765, was a French officer of Napoléon...
, Portrait of J.A. Rozier - Adolph WeinmanAdolph Alexander WeinmanAdolph Alexander Weinman was an American sculptor, born in Karlsruhe, Germany.- Biography :Weinman arrived in the United States at the age of 10. At the age of 15, he attended evening classes at Cooper Union and later studied at the Art Students League of New York with sculptors Augustus St....
, Rising Day - Adolph WeinmanAdolph Alexander WeinmanAdolph Alexander Weinman was an American sculptor, born in Karlsruhe, Germany.- Biography :Weinman arrived in the United States at the age of 10. At the age of 15, he attended evening classes at Cooper Union and later studied at the Art Students League of New York with sculptors Augustus St....
, Descending Night
Blount Collection
- John Singer SargentJohn Singer SargentJohn 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...
Mrs. Louis E. Raphael (Henriette Goldschmidt) (ca. 1906) - 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...
, Grand Central Station - Currently on tour as part of Seeing the City: Sloan's New York
Decorative Arts
- Worcester Porcelain FactoryRoyal WorcesterRoyal Worcester is believed to be the oldest remaining English pottery brand still in existence today.-Overview:Royal Worcester is a British brand known for its history, provenance and classically English collections of porcelain...
, Tankard, 1754-1755 - Worcester Porcelain FactoryRoyal WorcesterRoyal Worcester is believed to be the oldest remaining English pottery brand still in existence today.-Overview:Royal Worcester is a British brand known for its history, provenance and classically English collections of porcelain...
, Teapot and cover, c1758-1760
Young Gallery
- Dale KenningtonDale KenningtonDale Kennington is a Contemporary Artist working in the style of New American Realism. Her imagery is often of anonymous, passive individuals engaged in the banal, idle activities of everyday life: riding the subway, people watching or sitting at a bar...
, Long Day, Late Night recto verso
Studio Glass (Weil Atrium)
- Robin Grebe, Sybil, (2006)
- William MorrisWilliam Morris (glass artist)William Morris is an American glass artist. He was born in Carmel, California, USA. He was educated at California State University, Chico, California and Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington...
, Reliquary Vessel, (1998)
Temporary Exhibitions
- November 1, 2008-January 25, 2009 The Art of the Theatre http://www.800alabama.com/things-to-do/events/details.cfm?id=7544
- August 31-November 9, 2008 Jun Kaneko http://www.800alabama.com/things-to-do/events/details.cfm?id=7543
- June 4-October 19, 2008 American Impressionism from the Phillips Collection http://www.800alabama.com/things-to-do/events/details.cfm?id=7542
- March 27-June 15, 2008 Jousef Karsh: A Centennial Celebration http://www.800alabama.com/things-to-do/events/details.cfm?id=7541
- March 22-June 15, 2008 Babar's Museum of Art http://www.800alabama.com/things-to-do/events/details.cfm?id=7537
- December 1, 2007-March 2, 2008 American Streamlined Designs: The World of Tomorrow http://www.800alabama.com/things-to-do/events/details.cfm?id=5144
- September 15-November 18, 2007 William H. Johnson's World on Paper http://www.800alabama.com/things-to-do/events/details.cfm?id=5141
- September 8-November 4, 2007 Kathryn Tucker Windham: Every Picture Tells a Story http://www.800alabama.com/things-to-do/events/details.cfm?id=9170
- August 12-September 24, 2006 Adventures in Collecting Art: American Paintings from the Collections of Charles and Babette Wampold and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
- August 12-September 24, 2006 Poetic Expressions of Mortality: Figurative Ceramics From the Porter*Price Collection
- May 27-July 30, 2006 Hidden Treasures: Five Centuries of Masterworks on Paper from the Collection of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
- March 25-May 21, 2006 Protest in Montgomery: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Drawings by Harvey Dinnerstein and Burt Silverman
- March 25-May 21, 2006 Fleeting Impressions: Prints by James McNeill Whistler
- March 4-September 10, 2006 Just How I Picture It in My Mind: Contemporary African American Quilts from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
- March 4-May 14, 2006 Stars Falling on Alabama: Cappy Thompson Glass
- January 21-March 26, 2006 Jacob Lawrence: Three Series of Prints - Genesis, Hiroshima, and Toussaint L'Ouverture - Thirty-one color prints created by Jacob LawrenceJacob LawrenceJacob 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...
http://www.a-r-t.com/lawrence/ - November 12-December 31, 2005 Collecting the Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
- September 8, 2005-July 16, 2006 Africa Celebrates the Art of Living: African Art from the Collection of Dileep & Martha Mehta
- August 20-October 23, 2005 Duane Hanson: Portraits from the Heartland
- June 11-August 7, 2005 Ansel Adams and the American Landscape
- June 11-September 4, 2005 It's a Dog's Life: Photography by William Wegman from The Polaroid Collection
- April 9-June 5, 2005 Billie Ruth Sudduth: Math in a Basket
- April 9-June 5, 2005 36th Montgomery Art Guild Museum Exhibition
- January 15-March 27, 2005 Walker Evans and James Agee: Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
- January 15-March 27, 2005 Paintings by Jimmy Lee Sudduth
- January 15-March 27, 2005 William Christenberry: The Brownie Photographs
- November 20, 2004-January 2, 2005 George Taylor: Montgomery Muses
- October 23, 2004-January 2, 2005 Augustus Saint-Gaudens: American Sculptor of the Gilded Age
- October 2-November 14, 2004 Jeffrey Lewis: Encaustic Paintings
- October 2, 2004-January 2, 2005 Kenneth Procter: The Duino Suite
- August 7-October 3, 2004 Dale Kennington: Contemporary Mythologies
- August 7-October 3, 2004 The Point of the Pen: The Editorial Cartoons of Frank M. Spangler, Sr.
- September 6-December 7, 2003 Nostalgic Journey: American Illustration from the Collection of the Delaware Art Museum - Ninety original source drawings and paintings for printed illustrations drawn from the extensive collection of the Delaware Art MuseumDelaware Art MuseumThe Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 works. The museum, was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artist Howard Pyle and is now celebrating its centennial...
. - July 17-September 2, 2001 Chester Higgins, Jr.Chester Higgins, Jr.Chester Higgins, Jr. is an American photographer.Higgins has worked as a New York Times photographer since 1975 and has exhibited in museums throughout the world...
: Family, Friends, and Acquaintances http://www.chesterhiggins.com/alabama_grid.html - July 7-September 9, 2001 Alabama Folk Pottery
- May 26-August 19, 2001 From the Fire: Contemporary Korean Ceramics
- May 17-July 8, 2001 Beth Maynor Young: Rivers Run Through It
- January 13-March 11, 2001 Carlton Nell - Exhibition features delicate floral compositions by Carlton Nell
- January 13-March 11, 2001 Rick Beck: Sculpture - Features large, cast glass sculpture by Rick Beck, many in the forms of objects normally seen as industrial tools. http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2001/01/14/27937.html
- November 11, 2000-January 21, 2001 Carvings by Fred Webster - Twenty narrative groupings of biblical stories carved by Fred WebsterFred WebsterFrederick "Fred" Webster was a British boxer who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In 1928 he was eliminated in the second round of the lightweight class after losing his fight to David Baan.-External links:*...
. - November 11, 2000-January 7, 2001 after HISTORY: The Paintings of David Bierk - Fusion of past and present works from David BierkDavid BierkDavid Bierk , was an American-born Canadian painter. His work is exhibited at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York City. According to Askart.com , Bierk was primarily active in California and Canada, and he was best known for producing landscape paintings, as well as paintings incorporating "Old...
's early career to his most recent pieces. - August 26-October 22, 2000 Through These Eyes: The Photographs of P. H. Polk - Dozens of photographs from Prentice Herman Polk, official photographer of Tuskegee UniversityTuskegee UniversityTuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
. - April 1-May 14, 2000 Pride in Place: Landscapes by The Eight in Southern Collections - Forty works from the American painters known as The EightThe EightThe Eight may refer to:*Ashcan School, an American school of painters*The Eight , a Hungarian art movement*The Eight ...
- January 29-March 26, 2000 Edward Hopper: The Watercolors - Fifty-six watercolors created by Edward HopperEdward HopperEdward Hopper was a prominent American realist painter and printmaker. While most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching...
. http://americanart.si.edu/press/pr_archive/pr-hopper.cfm - January 8-February 27, 2000 Ship to Shore: Marine Paintings from the Butler Institute of American Art - Sixty works from the Butler Institute of American ArtButler Institute of American ArtThe Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum has been operating pro bono since 1919...
. - October 30, 1999-January 2, 2000 Towards the Horizon: Recent Works on Paper by Mary Ellen Doyle - Fifteen watercolor paintings by Mary Ellen Doyle, displayed in The Weil Graphic Arts Study Center.
- April 10-May 23, 1999 Kurt Weiser: Potter and Painter - Approximately fifteen objects by Kurt Weiser.