Birmingham Museum of Art facts for kids
Oscar Wells Memorial entrance to the museum
|
|
| Established | April 1951 |
|---|---|
| Location | 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd. North (formerly 8th Avenue North) Birmingham, Alabama, US |
| Type | Municipal art museum |
The Birmingham Museum of Art is a cool place in Birmingham, Alabama, where you can see amazing art from all over the world. It has over 24,000 pieces, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings. You can explore art from Asia, Europe, America, Africa, and even ancient Pre-Columbian and Native American cultures. The museum also features beautiful Renaissance and Baroque art from the 13th to the 18th century.
The City of Birmingham owns this museum. It covers about 3.9 acres in the city's main cultural area. The current building was built in 1959. It was later updated and made bigger in 1993. The museum is huge, with 180,000 square feet of space, and it even has an outdoor sculpture garden!
The museum is also part of the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network. This network helps protect important art and cultural items.
Contents
- What amazing art can you see?
- African Art: Explore ancient cultures
- American Art: From landscapes to portraits
- Art of Alabama: Local talent on display
- Asian Art: A journey through the East
- Contemporary Art: Art from today
- European Art: Masterpieces from history
- European Decorative Arts: Beautiful everyday objects
- Native American Art: Stories from the land
- Pre-Columbian Art: Ancient treasures
- The Charles W. Ireland Sculpture Garden: Art outdoors
- The Clarence B. Hanson Jr. Library: A place to learn
- How the museum started
- See also
What amazing art can you see?
.jpg)
.jpg)
African Art: Explore ancient cultures
The museum has almost 2,000 pieces of art from sub-Saharan Africa. These artworks date from the 12th century to today. You can see cool sculptures, masks, and everyday items. Look for an ancient Egyptian false door and a special mask from the Yoruba people.
American Art: From landscapes to portraits
This collection shows American art from the late 1700s to the mid-1900s. It includes paintings by famous artists like Georgia O'Keeffe. You can also see sculptures and decorative items. A very special painting here is Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California (1865) by Albert Bierstadt. It's considered one of the most important American landscape paintings ever!
Art of Alabama: Local talent on display
Since it opened, the museum has collected and shown art made in Alabama. You can find paintings by early Alabama artists like Hannah Elliott. The museum also has a great collection of folk art, including paintings, sculptures, and quilts made by self-taught artists.
Asian Art: A journey through the East
With over 4,000 objects, the museum's Asian art collection is the biggest in the Southeast US. It features art from China, Korea, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. You can see amazing Vietnamese ceramics and beautiful Buddhist and Hindu art. Don't miss the rare Ming dynasty temple wall from China! The museum also has the only gallery in the Southeast dedicated to Korean art.
Contemporary Art: Art from today
This collection features art from the 1960s to now. It includes paintings, sculptures, videos, and photos. You'll find works by famous artists like Andy Warhol and Joan Mitchell. There are also photos from the civil rights era by photographers like Gordon Parks.
European Art: Masterpieces from history
The museum has a wonderful collection of European art. This includes Renaissance and Baroque paintings and sculptures from the late 1200s to the mid-1700s. You can see works by artists like Pietro Perugino and Antonio Canaletto. There are also 17th-century Dutch paintings and 18th- and 19th-century French paintings.
European Decorative Arts: Beautiful everyday objects
This collection has more than 12,000 objects, including ceramics, glass, and furniture. They date from the Renaissance to today. A unique part of this collection is the largest public display of late 19th-century European cast iron items in the US. The museum also has an amazing collection of Wedgwood pottery, which is one of the best outside England.
Native American Art: Stories from the land
The museum has a large display of Native American art. The galleries are set up by region: Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Northwest Coast, and Southwest. You can see beautiful Navajo blankets, amazing Northwest Coast art, and old and new Pueblo ceramics.
Pre-Columbian Art: Ancient treasures
This collection features stunning objects from ancient Meso-America, Central America, and the Northern Andes. You can see ceramics from the Zapotec people and sculptures from the Maya. There are also gold items, ceramics, and textiles from cultures like the Sican and Moche in Peru.
The Charles W. Ireland Sculpture Garden: Art outdoors
This outdoor garden has sculptures by artists like Fernando Botero and Auguste Rodin. It also has three special artworks made just for the museum. These include a water wall, colorful tiled pools, and a cool art piece by Sol LeWitt with "Bands of Color in Various Directions."
The Clarence B. Hanson Jr. Library: A place to learn
The museum's library is a great place for art research in the southeastern US. It has many books, magazines, and databases about art. It also holds the largest collection of materials about Josiah Wedgwood and his pottery, making it a major center for studying Wedgwood in the US.
How the museum started
The museum's story began in 1908 with the "Birmingham Art Club." This club wanted to gather a public art collection for the people of Birmingham. In 1927, they were able to show their art in the new Birmingham Public Library. The club kept adding to the collection and worked hard to get support for a new museum building.
First art show
In September 1950, a group was formed to create the museum. They wanted it to be a place for everyone to learn and have fun. In February 1951, Richard Foster Howard became the first museum director. In April 1951, the new Birmingham Museum of Art held its first "Opening Exhibition" in five empty rooms at City Hall. This show included art from the club's collection and many pieces borrowed from other museums. People said it was "the finest showing of great objects of art in the South to date."
A new home for art
The success of the first exhibition led to many important art gifts. In 1952, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation loaned 29 paintings from the Italian Renaissance to the museum. These paintings became a very important part of the European art collection. In 1954, a large gift of money made a new museum building possible. The Oscar Wells Memorial Building opened on May 3, 1959. Later, the Kress Foundation officially gave the Italian paintings to the museum. They also gave a collection of Renaissance furniture and decorative items.
Growing bigger
The museum kept growing! More galleries were added in 1965 and 1967. In 1974, a big addition rebuilt the east wing. More updates in 1979 added a special lab for art care and another entrance. In 1980, the gallery space grew by 28,000 square feet. Another big expansion was planned in 1986. This project added a new outdoor sculpture garden and 50,000 square feet of exhibition space. This made the museum a total of 180,000 square feet!
See also
- List of largest art museums
- North American Reciprocal Museums
