Delaware Art Museum
The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum in Wilmington , Delaware . It was founded in 1912 by a group of friends of Howard Pyle , who died the previous year . The museum's collection focuses on Pre-Raphaelite art , American illustrations, and the landscapes of John French Sloan and his circle.
history
In the winter of 1912, the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts was founded by a group of Wilmington citizens, including artists and business people, in memory of Howard Pyle , who died the previous year . Pyle was a significant artistic figure in the city and influenced its cultural life. The aim of the newly founded company was to protect Pyle's work and make it accessible to the public. With funds from donations from local sponsors, around 100 paintings, drawings and prints by Pyles were acquired, which formed the basis of a collection that was subsequently expanded to include works by other American illustrators .
In 1935, the family of the art collector Samuel Bancroft Jr., who died in 1915, donated his collection of Pre-Raphaelite art and manuscripts to the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts . In addition, the family gave the company 11 acres of land on which a museum was to be built. $ 350,000 was raised to build the museum, which finally opened as the Delaware Art Center in June 1938. The collection opened up more and more to American art beyond illustration. In 1943 the Wilmington Academy of Art added opportunities for artistic training to the museum. In 1956, thanks to a donation from H. Fletcher Brown, a wing named after him with studios and other training rooms was added to the museum building . The museum has been supported by Helen Farr Sloan , wife of John French Sloan , who died in 1951 , since 1961 . With their support, 5,000 items were acquired for the collection, including many of Sloan's works, making the Delaware Art Museum one of the most comprehensive collections of his work.
The Delaware Art Center's name was changed to the Delaware Art Museum in 1972 when it became part of the American Association of Museums . Since the 1970s, the museum's collection has been expanded in its main areas, but also in the area of modern and contemporary art. In 1987 the exhibition area was expanded and a lecture room was added. From 2003 to 2005 there was a further expansion of the museum. Under the direction of the architect Ann M. Beha , the original building was renovated and three new exhibition wings were built. On June 26, 2005, the museum reopened.
collection
The museum has one of the most important collections of Pre-Raphaelite works outside of Great Britain. This goes on the legacy of Samuel Bancroft Jr. , who had collected this art direction. Among the paintings are The Council Chamber by Edward Burnes Jones , La bella mano by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and The Waterfall by John Everett Millais . In addition, Ford Madox Brown , William Holman Hunt and Marie Spartali Stillman are also represented in the collection. In addition, the paintings are complemented by works of decorative arts such as chairs, drawings and photographs.
Another focus of the collection are the works of Howard Pyle , of which the museum owns the paintings The Mermaid and Marooned , among others . The collection also includes works by his students such as Maxfield Parrish and Frank Schoonover . The museum also owns works by other major American illustrators.
The Delaware Art Museum's collection also includes a large number of works by John French Sloan such as Wet Night, Washington Square, and Spring Rain . The museum also has works by other important American artists. From the 19th century, artists such as Winslow Homer , Thomas Eakins and Raphaelle Peale are represented. The first half of the 20th century is represented by Edward Hopper , Isabel Bishop and Charles Burchfield , among others . The museum has works by Robert Motherwell , Louise Nevelson , Andrew Wyeth and Norman Lewis from the post-World War II era .
La bella mano by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Marooned by Howard Pyle
The Mermaid by Howard Pyle
Spring Rain by John French Sloan
Special exhibitions
The museum shows several changing exhibitions each year, each with a different focus. Some deal with certain art forms such as Consuming Desires: Modern Marketing Posters (1880-1919) from 2005 or the design exhibition Garry Knox Bennett : Call me Chairmaker from 2008. Some deal with the artists represented in the permanent exhibition and collection focuses. There were several exhibitions on John Sloan as well as some on illustration. There was also an exhibition of works by African American artists and those showing art from the state of Delaware .
literature
- Kraig Binkowski: Delaware Art Museum Selected Treasures . Scala, 2004. ISBN 1857593200
- Jeanette M. Toohey (Eds.): Pre-Raphaelites: The Samuel & Mary R. Bancroft Collection of the Delaware Art Museum . Delaware Art Museum, 1995. ISBN 0936594101
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on the history of the museum on delart.org, accessed on May 8, 2009 ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Information on the building on delart.org, accessed on May 25, 2009 ( Memento of the original of April 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 39 ° 45 '58.3 " N , 75 ° 33' 53.1" W.