Allen Memorial Art Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1917 |
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| Location | Oberlin College 87 North Main Street Oberlin, Ohio 44074 United States |
| Type | Art museum |
The Allen Memorial Art Museum (often called AMAM) is a cool art museum found in Oberlin, Ohio. It's part of Oberlin College. This museum started way back in 1917. It has a huge collection of over 15,000 amazing artworks!
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What is the AMAM?
The AMAM is mainly a teaching museum. It helps students, teachers, and staff at Oberlin College learn about art. It also welcomes everyone from the local community.
The museum is known for its art from the 1600s in the Netherlands and Belgium. It also has great European and American art from the 1800s and early 1900s. Plus, there are many Asian, European, and American artworks on paper.
The museum building looks like an Italian Renaissance palace. It was designed by Cass Gilbert. The museum is named after its founder, Dr. Dudley Peter Allen. He was a graduate and leader of Oberlin College.
In 1977, famous architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown designed an addition to the museum. This part is an early example of postmodern architecture in the United States. In 2011, the museum building was updated. It earned a special award for being energy-efficient.
What Kind of Art Can You See?
The Allen Memorial Art Museum has over 15,000 items. These include paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts. There are also prints, drawings, and photographs. Together, they show the history of art from many different cultures.
The museum focuses on European and American paintings and sculptures. These artworks range from the 1400s to today. It also has Asian paintings, scrolls, sculptures, and decorative art. This includes a large group of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints.
You can also see ancient art from ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire. There's also African art and Pre-Columbian art (art from before Columbus arrived in the Americas).
The museum also keeps the special papers of artist Eva Hesse. These include her notebooks, diaries, photos, and letters. The museum also helps look after Frank Lloyd Wright's Weltzheimer/Johnson House.
Some important artworks were given to the museum by Eugene Leopold Garbaty. He was a Jewish businessman who left Germany in the 1930s.
Art Bought with the Prentiss Fund
The museum has bought many artworks using money from the Mrs. F.F. Prentiss Fund. These include a sculpture by Henry Moore and other famous pieces:
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Brabant Farmyard by Piet Mondrian
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Portrait of John, 1st Lord Wodehouse, by Pompeo Batoni
Rent Art for Your Dorm Room!
At the start of each school semester, students at Oberlin College line up. They wait to be the first to pick original artworks. These include etchings, lithographs, and paintings. Some pieces are by famous artists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, and Pablo Picasso.
For just five dollars a semester, students can rent these artworks. They can then hang them on their dorm room walls!
This special program started in the 1940s. It was created by Ellen H. Johnson, an art professor at Oberlin. She wanted to help students "develop their artistic feelings." She also hoped it would encourage them to think clearly in other parts of their lives.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Arte Memorial Allen para niños
