Chrysler Museum of Art facts for kids
Chrysler Museum of Art
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| Established | 1933 |
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| Location | 1 Memorial Place, Norfolk, Virginia |
| Type | Art museum |
| Visitors | 200,000 |
The Chrysler Museum of Art is a fantastic art museum located in Norfolk, Virginia. It sits right between downtown and the Ghent district. The museum first opened its doors in 1933. Back then, it was known as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences.
In 1971, something amazing happened! Walter P. Chrysler Jr., whose family owned a famous car company, gave most of his huge art collection to the museum. His wife, Jean Outland Chrysler, was from Norfolk. This incredible gift made the museum one of the biggest art museums in the Southeastern United States. Today, the museum has over 35,000 art pieces. It also boasts one of America's largest collections of glass art. You can find paintings, sculptures, photos, and decorative items. The museum campus also has the Perry Glass Studio, a restaurant, a gift shop, and the Kaufman Theater. It also looks after the historic Myers House.
Discover the Chrysler Museum of Art
The Chrysler Museum of Art has a rich history. It started as the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences in 1933. Later, it was renamed to honor Walter P. Chrysler Jr. The main museum building got a big makeover and reopened on May 10, 2014. While the main building was closed, the Glass Studio and the Moses Myers House stayed open. Art was also shown in other places around the community. For its grand reopening, a giant Rubber Duck sculpture floated nearby from May 17–26, 2014. The museum used to have an open courtyard. But during renovations in the 1980s, this courtyard was covered. It became Huber Court, a space now used for concerts and other events.
The museum's Perry Glass Studio, located at 245 Grace Street, recently got much bigger. Its expansion tripled the size of the building. This means it can now offer twice as many classes and programs. Construction on this new facility began in June 2022 and finished in early 2025. The city of Norfolk and the Commonwealth of Virginia helped fund this expansion.
Amazing Art Collections
A writer for the New York Times once said the Chrysler collection is "one any museum in the world would kill for." With over 35,000 items, the collection covers more than 5,000 years of world history. It mainly features American and European paintings and sculptures. These pieces range from the Middle Ages all the way to today.
Famous Artists and Masterpieces
The museum has important works by Renaissance artists like Tintoretto and Veronese. You can also see art from Baroque artists such as Diego Velázquez and Gianlorenzo Bernini. American artists like John Singleton Copley, Thomas Cole, Edward Hopper, and Jackson Pollock are also featured. French artists like Eugène Delacroix, Édouard Manet, Paul Cézanne, and Claude Monet are part of the collection too. The museum even has the last sculpture by the Baroque master Gianlorenzo Bernini. It's a marble bust of Jesus Christ made for Queen Christina of Sweden.
A World of Glass
The Chrysler Museum is home to one of the world's best collections of glass art. This includes amazing pieces by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The museum also has beautiful decorative arts and a growing collection of photography. Art from ancient times, Asia, Africa, and Pre-Columbian America (especially Maya pottery) is also well represented.
In 1999, there was a disagreement about who owned a sculpture called The Wounded Indian by Peter Stephenson. The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association thought the sculpture had been destroyed. In late 2020, the museum and the Association agreed to update the sculpture's history to include the Association's past ownership.
Fun Programs and Exhibitions
The Chrysler Museum offers many fun activities. You can take guided tours, listen to lectures, watch films, and enjoy concerts. They also have family days and story time in the galleries. Over 60,000 students from local schools visit the museum each year. About 100 volunteer guides, called docents, help these students and the public learn about the art. These docents go through a tough, year-long training program.
The museum shows its permanent collection and also hosts many changing exhibitions. These shows feature art from all over the world. Recent exhibitions have included Rembrandt's Etchings and Rodin: Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection. In May 2024, the museum had a special exhibition on Jewish art. This show covered art from the 16th century to modern times.
Exploring the Museum Campus
The Exciting Perry Glass Studio
In 2011, the Chrysler Museum opened the Perry Glass Studio. It is right next to the main museum building. This studio was built to go along with the museum's huge glass collection. The original space was 7,000 square feet. It offered daily glassmaking demonstrations. It also provided a place for visiting artists and students to create glass art. In 2022, the studio got much bigger. Its size tripled, and it now offers twice as many classes for everyone. Besides daily demonstrations, the studio invites glass artists from around the world. They work in the studio, meet college students, and show their art to the public. There's also a program for new artists who want to work with glass.
The Goode Works on Paper Center
In 2024, the Chrysler Museum opened the Goode Works on Paper Center inside the main museum. Works on paper, like prints, photographs, and drawings, make up one-third of the museum's collection. However, these pieces are sensitive to light, so they are not always on display. This new center has a special storage area for the collection. It also has a Study Room where visitors can make an appointment to see these artworks.
The Jean Outland Chrysler Library
The Jean Outland Chrysler Library has a collection that covers the history of art worldwide. It focuses on topics related to the Chrysler's permanent collection. The library gets many art journals. It also has a large collection of old and new auction catalogs. It trades publications with 400 art museums globally.
The library is named after Jean Outland Chrysler, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.'s wife. Its collection started with the books from the original Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences library. In 1977, the library bought books from a London art dealer. This added important history books, magazines, and rare sales catalogs. The library also keeps the museum's old records. These include an original copy of Mark Twain's speech from the Jamestown Tricentennial Exposition of 1907. It also has papers from the Moses Myers family.
The Jean Outland Chrysler Library moved to Old Dominion University in 2014. However, you can still visit the reading room at the Chrysler Museum of Art.
Step Back in Time: The Moses Myers House
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Moses Myers House
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Moses Myers House
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| Location | SW corner of E. Freemason and N. Bank Sts., Norfolk, Virginia |
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| Area | 9.9 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Built | 1792, 1796 |
| Architect | Latrobe, Benjamin H. |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000874 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 16, 1970 |
The Moses Myers House in downtown Norfolk is a great example of Federal style. It still has 70 percent of its original items inside! This house lets visitors see what life was like for a rich Jewish merchant and his family in the early 1800s. Moses Myers moved to Norfolk in 1787 with his wife Eliza. Five years later, he bought land and built this home. Today, the house holds an important collection of American, English, and French furniture. It also has glass, silver, ceramics, and portraits. Famous artists like Gilbert Stuart painted these portraits. All these items were bought or ordered by the Myers family.
The house was built around 1792. It is a two-story, Federal style brick townhouse. Its front has a sloped roof and a small decorative entrance around the front door. In 1796, a two-story addition was built at the back. This addition, possibly designed by Benjamin H. Latrobe, held a large dining room. There are also a two-story service wing and an attached two-story kitchen at the back. The house was renovated in 1906 for the Jamestown Exposition. It became a house museum in 1931.
Starting in 1960, the house was fully renovated to look more like it did historically. Changes from the Victorian era were removed. Structural repairs were made to the first floor. The inside rooms were repainted to match historical colors. A clay tile roof was put on to look like the original wood shingle roof.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. In October 2022, the city council thought about selling the house. This idea made many people, like the Norfolk Historical Society, very upset because they wanted to keep it as a museum.
What Happened to the Willoughby-Baylor House?
The Chrysler Museum of Art used to manage the Norfolk History Museum. This museum was located at the Willoughby-Baylor House (built around 1794). However, the Chrysler Museum no longer manages this property. The Willoughby-Baylor House has been closed since 2020. It used to show the history of the region. It featured decorative arts, Norfolk's story as a port, and its naval history.
See also
In Spanish: Museo Chrysler para niños
