Albany Museum of Art facts for kids
The Albany Museum of Art is a cool place in Albany, Georgia, USA. It's a non-profit organization, which means it's run by a group of people who want to share art with everyone, not to make money. A board of 28 directors helps guide the museum.
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History of the Museum
The museum started way back in 1964. It grew out of a group called the Southwest Georgia Art Association. At first, the museum was in an old hosiery factory. Then, in 1969, a kind person named W.B. Haley, Jr. helped the Art Association build a small building in a local park.
In 1983, after a big fundraising effort, the people of Albany and Southwest Georgia opened the new Albany Museum of Art. This new building was right next to Albany State University. The museum building has six art rooms, a gift shop, a large room for events, a fun children's gallery, and a classroom for art lessons.
On January 2, 2017, strong winds caused serious damage to the museum building. But just seven months later, the museum was able to open three of its art rooms on the first floor. The gift shop, classroom, and event room also reopened.
Even though the museum's main collection is currently stored in a different place, the museum still offers many exciting art shows and activities. The museum has been planning to move to a new building downtown. Once the museum moves, its entire art collection will be back together in one place.
Art Collections and Shows
The Albany Museum of Art has a growing collection of art. It includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photos from the 1800s and 1900s, from both America and Europe. The museum also has one of the biggest collections of traditional African art in the Southeast, outside of a university.
The museum shows more than 200 pieces of art from its collection of 2,400 original works. These works come from Africa, Europe, and America.
The African collection has many interesting items. You can see masks, sculptures, pottery, baskets, textiles, jewelry, and gold weights. It's one of the largest collections of art from Sub-Saharan Africa in the Southeastern United States.
The American and European collections feature paintings, drawings, photos, and sculptures. Some famous American artists whose work you might see include Edward Henry Potthast, Joseph H. Sharp, Ernest Lawson, Reginald Marsh, and A.L. Ripley.
Museum Galleries
- The Banks Haley Gallery - This gallery shows special art exhibits that travel or are put together by the museum.
- The East Gallery - Here you can see art by artists from the local area and from around the country.
- The West Gallery - This gallery also features works by artists from the region and the nation.
- The Ralph Hodges Sales Gallery - In this gallery, you can buy art made by local and regional artists.
- The AMAzing Spaces Gallery - This is a fun, hands-on gallery for children. It has masks and a "Recollections Room" where you can create colorful art just by moving around!
(TEMPORARILY CLOSED)*The Miller Gallery - This gallery usually displays art and items from the museum's Sub-Saharan African collection. (TEMPORARILY CLOSED)*The Raymond F. Evans Sporting Art Gallery - This gallery features art about wildlife and sports. (TEMPORARILY CLOSED)*The McCormack Gallery - This gallery shows art from the museum's own collection or from other collections on loan.
Exhibitions for Loan
(TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE)
- “Master Drawings from the Shaffer Collection” - This exhibit has 34 amazing drawings from the late 1400s to the early 1700s. They include works from Dutch, Flemish, French, German, and Italian art schools.
- “Mose Tolliver” - This show features 14 paintings by the African-American folk artist Mose Tolliver.
- “Warhol Flowers” - This exhibit includes 10 silk screen prints by Andy Warhol that have been hand-watercolored.
- "Studio Glass from the Schuman Collection" - This collection has 63 glass sculptures by artists like Harvey Littleton and Dominick Labino.
See also
