San Antonio Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
The San Antonio Museum of Art ( SAMA ) is a museum
in San Antonio, Texas
. In the early 1970s, plans were initiated to purchase the historic Lone Star Brewery
complex for conversion into the San Antonio Museum of Art and following a $7.2 million renovation, the San Antonio Museum of Art opened to the public in March 1981. The museum was funded through grants from the Economic Development Administration of San Antonio, and numerous businessmen and foundations.
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The museum is situated on the northern section of the San Antonio Riverwalk. Café des Artistes is SAMA's restaurant which overlooks the river.
When the museum opened it specialized in art of the Americas including pre-Columbian
, Spanish Colonial and Latin American folk art. It also included eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century American and European paintings, photography, sculpture and decorative arts. In 1985, the Museum received collections of Latin American Folk Art formed from former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller and Robert K. Winn.
In the 1990s the museum expanded considerably with donations from Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., the addition of the Stark-Willson Collection which established a comprehensive collection of Egyptian
, Greek
, and Roman
art and a collection of Chinese ceramics from trustees Walter F. and Lenora Brown. The Chinese collection which also included other Asian objects resulted in a 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) wing named after them, The Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing which opened in 2005 is now the largest museum for Asian art in the southern United States.
In 1991, the 7000 square feet (650.3 m²) Cowden Gallery was opened for changing exhibitions and, in 1994, the 3000 square feet (278.7 m²) Beretta Hops House was renovated to provide a new area for schooling with three main classrooms. In 1998, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art, a 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) wing, opened to display Latin American art.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. In the early 1970s, plans were initiated to purchase the historic Lone Star Brewery
Lone Star Brewing Company
The Lone Star Brewery, built in 1884, was the first large, mechanized brewery in Texas. Adolphus Busch, of Anheuser-Busch, founded it along with a group of San Antonio businessmen. The castle-like building now houses the San Antonio Museum of Art. Lone Star beer was the company's main brand. It was...
complex for conversion into the San Antonio Museum of Art and following a $7.2 million renovation, the San Antonio Museum of Art opened to the public in March 1981. The museum was funded through grants from the Economic Development Administration of San Antonio, and numerous businessmen and foundations.
When the museum opened it specialized in art of the Americas including pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
, Spanish Colonial and Latin American folk art. It also included eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century American and European paintings, photography, sculpture and decorative arts. In 1985, the Museum received collections of Latin American Folk Art formed from former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller and Robert K. Winn.
In the 1990s the museum expanded considerably with donations from Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., the addition of the Stark-Willson Collection which established a comprehensive collection of Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
art and a collection of Chinese ceramics from trustees Walter F. and Lenora Brown. The Chinese collection which also included other Asian objects resulted in a 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) wing named after them, The Lenora and Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing which opened in 2005 is now the largest museum for Asian art in the southern United States.
In 1991, the 7000 square feet (650.3 m²) Cowden Gallery was opened for changing exhibitions and, in 1994, the 3000 square feet (278.7 m²) Beretta Hops House was renovated to provide a new area for schooling with three main classrooms. In 1998, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art, a 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) wing, opened to display Latin American art.