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 cool art museum located in Norfolk, Virginia. It sits right between downtown and the Ghent district. The museum first opened in 1933. Back then, it was called the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences.
A big change happened in 1971. A man named Walter P. Chrysler Jr., whose family was famous for cars, gave most of his huge art collection to the museum. His wife, Jean Outland Chrysler, was from Norfolk. This amazing gift made the museum's collection much bigger. It became one of the most important art museums in the Southeastern United States. Before 1971, the Chrysler Museum was a smaller place in Massachusetts. Today, the museum is located next to a small body of water called The Hague.
Contents
Museum Building Updates
The main building of the museum got a big makeover and reopened on May 10, 2014. While the main building was being worked on, the Glass Studio and the Moses Myers House stayed open. Some art was even shown in other places around the community. For the 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 where concerts and other events are now held.
Amazing Art Collection
A writer for the New York Times once said the Chrysler collection was so good, "any museum in the world would kill for" it. The museum has over 30,000 art pieces! These artworks cover more than 5,000 years of world history. The main part of the collection includes American and European paintings and sculptures. These pieces range from the Middle Ages all the way to today.
Some of the most famous artists whose works are at the museum include Tintoretto, Veronese, Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velázquez, Édouard Manet, Paul Cézanne, Mary Cassatt, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Edward Hopper, and Andy Warhol.
The Chrysler Museum is also home to a very special sculpture. It's the last sculpture made by the famous Baroque artist Gianlorenzo Bernini. It's a marble bust of Jesus Christ. Bernini made it as a gift for Queen Christina of Sweden. The museum also has one of the world's best collections of glass art. This includes beautiful works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. You can also find great collections of decorative arts and a growing collection of photography. Art from ancient civilizations, Asia, Africa, and Pre-Columbian America (especially Maya pottery) are also well shown.
Collection Highlights
Programs and Exhibitions
The Chrysler Museum offers many fun and educational 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 9,000 students from local schools visit the museum each year. About 100 volunteer guides, called docents, help with these visits. They also give different tours for the public. Becoming a docent at the Chrysler is a tough, year-long training program. Once trained, docents keep learning through various activities.
The museum shows its permanent collection all the time. It also hosts several changing exhibitions. These shows feature art from all over the world. Some past exhibitions have included "Rembrandt's Etchings" and "American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell."
Jean Outland Chrysler Library
The Jean Outland Chrysler Library is one of the biggest art libraries in the Southern United States. It has books and materials about the entire history of world art. It especially focuses on topics related to the museum's own collection. The library gets hundreds of art magazines and journals. It also has many old and new auction catalogs. Plus, it trades publications with 400 art museums worldwide.
The library is named after Jean Outland Chrysler. She was Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.'s wife. She helped a lot in building and growing the library's collection. The library's original books came from the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1977, the museum bought the library of a London art dealer. This added many important historical books, magazines, and rare sales catalogs. The library also keeps the museum's old records. This includes a speech by Mark Twain from 1907. There are also papers from the Moses Myers family. These papers give a special look into the life of an important merchant in the early United States.
In 2014, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library moved from the museum building. It is now in a new art building on the Old Dominion University campus.
Historic Houses
Besides its main building, the Chrysler Museum of Art also takes care of an important historic house.
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 is in downtown Norfolk. It's a great example of Federal style. This means it was built in a popular style from the late 1700s and early 1800s. About 70 percent of its original furniture and items are still inside! The house and its contents let visitors see what life was like for a wealthy 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 a large piece of land and built this home. Today, the house has an important collection of American, English, and French furniture. It also has glass, silver, ceramics, and portraits. Famous artists like Gilbert Stuart and Thomas Sully painted these portraits. All these items were bought or ordered by the Myers family.
The house was built around 1792. It's a two-story brick townhouse in the Federal style. The front has a triangular roof section and a small porch around the front door. In 1796, a two-story addition was built at the back. This part, possibly designed by Benjamin H. Latrobe, has eight sides. It was used as a large dining room. There's also a two-story service wing and a kitchen attached to the back. The house was renovated in 1906 for the Jamestown Exposition. It became a house museum in 1931.
The Moses Myers House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. In October 2022, the City of Norfolk, which owns the house, discussed possibly selling the property. This includes the main house, the attached dwelling for servants, and the historic garden.
See also
In Spanish: Museo Chrysler para niños
