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Buffalo AKG Art Museum
2024.10.10 AKGCampusExteriorDronePhotos-1001.jpg
Aerial view of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (October 2024)
Established May 31, 1905 (1905-05-31)
Location 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York
Type Art museum
Architect Augustus Saint Gaudens, Edward Brodhead Green
Gordon Bunshaft (1962)
Shohei Shigematsu (2023)
Nearest parking Underground
Designated May 27, 1971
Reference no. 71000538

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum is a cool place in Buffalo, New York, where you can see amazing modern art and contemporary art. It's right next to Delaware Park.

This museum used to be called the Albright–Knox Art Gallery. It got its new name from three important people who gave a lot of money to support it: John J. Albright, Seymour H. Knox II, and Jeffrey Gundlach.

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An interior gallery of the Wilmers Building

A Look at the Museum's Past

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum started with an organization called the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, which began way back in 1862. It's one of the oldest public art groups in the United States!

How the Museum Began

In 1900, a rich businessman from Buffalo named John J. Albright gave money to build an art gallery. A local architect, Edward Brodhead Green, designed the building. It was supposed to be ready for a big event called the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. But it wasn't finished until 1905. When it finally opened on May 31, 1905, it was called the Albright Art Gallery.

Adding More Buildings

The museum campus has several buildings. Clifton Hall was built in 1920. After some updates, it became the Albright Art School in 1929. It was named after Charles Clifton, who helped fund its renovation.

In 1962, the museum grew even more thanks to Seymour H. Knox II and his family, along with many other generous people. This new part was designed by Gordon Bunshaft, a famous architect. At this time, the museum changed its name to the Albright–Knox Art Gallery. The Buffalo AKG Art Museum is also a special historic place listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Modern Updates and a New Name

The museum started planning for more space in 2001. In 2016, they chose an architect named Shohei Shigematsu to design a big expansion. Jeffrey Gundlach, a businessman from Buffalo, gave a huge donation of $42.5 million for the project. Many other businesses and people also helped raise money.

Because of Gundlach's gift, a new building was named the Jeffrey E. Gundlach Building. When all the renovations were finished and the museum reopened in spring 2023, it was renamed the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. The "AKG" stands for Albright, Knox, and Gundlach, honoring these important donors.

Cool New Features

The Seymour H. Knox Building used to have an open courtyard that visitors couldn't enter. Now, it has a cool artwork called Common Sky by artists Ólafur Elíasson and Sebastian Behmann. It's like a glass and mirror roof that lets light in and shows reflections. This new space is called the "Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Town Square."

Clifton Hall now holds the museum's old records, offices, and a special study center for prints and drawings. It also has workspaces for the Public Art Initiative, which brings art to the community.

The Seymour H. Knox Building also has fun places for visitors. The Creative Commons is where you can join art workshops. It's the first time the Lego Foundation has worked with a museum! There's also a restaurant called Cornelia with a huge glass mosaic by artist Firelei Báez.

The Jeffrey E. Gundlach Building, which opened in August 2023, is a round glass building. It added over 50,000 square feet of new space for art and five classrooms. The first floor shows Scandinavian art, and the third floor displays the museum's newest art pieces.

The museum is also part of the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network, which helps protect art around the world.

Awesome Art Shows

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum has hosted many exciting art shows over the years.

In 1910, the museum had a special show about photography, put together by Alfred Stieglitz. It was one of the first times an American museum showed photography as a serious art form.

Later, in 1978, an exhibition of Richard Diebenkorn's art from the museum was chosen to represent the United States at a big international art event in Venice, Italy. The museum also sent an exhibition by artist Jenny Holzer to Venice in 1988.

What's in the Collection?

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An interior gallery of the Wilmers Building

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum is known for collecting important artworks rather than many pieces by the same artist. It has a huge collection of over 6,500 works!

Art from Different Eras

You can see art from the 1800s in styles like Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Artists like Paul Gauguin, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh have works here.

The museum also has revolutionary art from the early 1900s, including abstract, cubism, surrealism, and constructivism. Look for pieces by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Piet Mondrian, and Frida Kahlo (her famous Self-Portrait with Monkey is here!).

Thanks to Seymour H. Knox and a former director, Gordon M. Smith, the museum was one of the first to collect a lot of Abstract Expressionism. You'll find works by artists like Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler. The museum has the second-largest collection of paintings by Clyfford Still, with 33 of his abstract works.

Modern and Contemporary Art

The museum also has many examples of post-war American and European art. You can see pop art, minimalism, and art from the late 20th century by artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Andy Warhol.

When pop artist Marisol passed away in 2016, she left all her art to the museum. This made it the largest collection of her work anywhere!

The contemporary collection includes pieces by artists like Cory Arcangel, Nick Cave, and Anselm Kiefer. Before its recent expansion, the museum could only show about 3% of its huge collection at one time.

Cool Art Highlights

Here are some of the amazing artworks you can find at the museum:

Paintings to See

Here are a few more famous paintings in the collection:

Name Artist Year Notes
Hotel Lobby Max Beckmann 1950
Music and Literature William Michael Harnett 1878
La Maison de la Crau (The Old Mill) Vincent van Gogh 1888
La Jeune bonne (The Servant Girl) Amedeo Modigliani 1918
Self-Portrait with Monkey Frida Kahlo 1938
Nude Figure Pablo Picasso 1909-1910
La Toilette Pablo Picasso 1906
Chemin de haulage à Argenteuil (Tow path at Argenteuil) Claude Monet 1875
Convergence Jackson Pollock 1952
Icarus Richard Hunt 1956
Orange and Yellow Mark Rothko 1956
Winter Light Norman Carton 1956
Cow Andy Warhol 1976

Sculptures to Explore

The museum grounds also have many cool sculptures outside. Here are some of them:

Name Artist Year Image
Alphabet Series Fletcher Benton N/A
Big Red James Rosati 1971
Bond Alexander Liberman 1969
Stainless Steel, Aluminum, Monochrome I, Built to Live Anywhere, at Home Here Nancy Rubins 2011
Cigarette Tony Smith 1961
Diamond I of III Antoni Milkowski 1967
Directional I Lyman Kipp 1962
Karma Do-Ho Suh 2010
E.C. Column Kenneth Snelson 1969–81
Flat Rate II Lyman Kipp 1969
Four Chances Kenneth Snelson 1982
Into the Blue Shayne Dark 2005
Laura Jaume Plensa 2012
Look and See Jim Hodges 2005
Shark Girl Casey Riordan Millard 2014
Stacked Revision Structure Liam Gillick 2005
The Cry Isamu Noguchi 1962
Turning the World Upside Down #4 Anish Kapoor 1998

Visiting the Museum

The museum is open from 10 AM to 8 PM on Thursdays and Fridays. On Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, it's open from 10 AM to 5 PM. On the first Friday of every month, you can pay what you wish to get in, thanks to M&T Bank.

Who Runs the Museum?

Albright-Knox Art Gallery 2
View of Albright–Knox Art Gallery from Delaware Park

Since 2013, Janne Sirén has been the director of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. He is the first director from the Nordic region to lead a major American art museum.

Past Directors

Here's a list of the people who have led the museum:

  • Janne Gallen-Kallela-Sirén (2013–present)
  • Louis Grachos (2002–2013)
  • Douglas G. Schultz (1983–2002)
  • Robert T. Buck, Jr. (1973–1983)
  • Gordon M. Smith (1955–1973)
  • Edgar C. Schenck (1949–1955)
  • Andrew C. Ritchie (1942–1949)
  • Gordon B. Washburn (1931–1942)
  • William M. Hekking (1925–1931)
  • Cornelia Bentley Sage Quinton (1910–1924)
  • Charles McMeen Kurtz (1905–1909)

How the Museum Gets Money

The museum has a special fund called an endowment, which helps pay for new art and operations. In 2007, the museum sold an old Roman sculpture, Artemis and the Stag, for $28.6 million. This money helped the museum buy even more new art.

In 2013, the museum received a large gift of $11 million from Peggy Pierce Elfvin. Then, in 2016, Jeffrey Gundlach gave $42.5 million, which was the biggest donation from one person in the museum's history! These gifts help the museum continue to grow and bring amazing art to everyone.

Albright Art Gallery in 1913

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Museo Albright-Knox para niños

  • John J. Albright
  • Portrait of Seymour H. Knox
  • Seymour H. Knox II
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