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Cincinnati Art Museum facts for kids

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Cincinnati Art Museum
Cincinnati Art Museum logo.svg
Cincinnati Art Museum 2015.jpg
Established 1881
Location 953 Eden Park Dr.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Type Art museum
Visitors 346,000
Public transit access Local transit SORTA Metro route 1
Interactive map

The Cincinnati Art Museum is a cool place to explore art in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It opened way back in 1881, making it one of the oldest art museums in the United States. It was also the first museum built specifically for art west of the Alleghenies! Imagine, over 67,000 artworks are kept here. These pieces cover 6,000 years of human history, making it one of the biggest collections in the Midwest!

The museum was built in Eden Park. A man named Charles West, who gave a lot of money to the museum, helped choose this spot. The building itself is quite old, designed by Cincinnati architect James W. McLaughlin and opened in 1886. It has been changed and made bigger many times over the years.

In 2003, a special part called "The Cincinnati Wing" was added. This wing shows art made for Cincinnati or by artists from Cincinnati since 1788. It has fifteen new galleries with about 400 objects. Some of the largest pieces are two angels by Odoardo Fantacchiotti. These angels were made for a cathedral in the 1840s and were among the first European sculptures to come to Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Wing also features works by Frank Duveneck, Rookwood Pottery, and Robert Scott Duncanson.

The Cincinnati Art Museum is also part of the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network. This network was started in 2021 by the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.

Museum History

CincinnatiArtMuseumStaircase
Inside the Cincinnati Art Museum

In the late 1800s, public art museums were quite new, especially in places like Cincinnati. After a successful exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, a group called the Women's Art Museum Association formed in Cincinnati. Their goal was to create an art museum for everyone in the area. People became very excited about this idea. By 1881, the Cincinnati Museum Association was officially created.

At first, the art museum was in a temporary spot at Music Hall. Just five years later, on May 17, 1886, the main Art Museum building opened in Eden Park. In November 1887, the Art Academy of Cincinnati, a school for artists, moved to the museum's campus.

The Cincinnati Art Museum quickly gained support from the community. Many generous people from Cincinnati, like Melville E. Ingalls, donated artworks. The collection grew to tens of thousands of objects. This meant the museum needed to be expanded several times.

Building Expansions

In 1907, the Schmidlapp Wing opened. More building projects followed. In the 1930s, the Emery, Hanna, and French wings were added. These additions made the museum into its current rectangular shape. They also created space for the American, European, and Asian art collections.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Great Hall was divided into two floors. The main entrance to the museum was also changed to where it is today. In 1965, the Adams-Emery wing was finished. This added more space for the permanent collection, lecture halls, and special temporary exhibits.

In 1993, a big project costing $13 million helped restore the museum's beautiful inside. Hidden architectural details were uncovered. The Great Hall, one of the museum's most important spaces, was also renovated. New gallery space was created, and the lighting and climate control were made better. The space for temporary exhibitions grew to about 10,000 square feet. In 1998, the museum's leaders decided to separate the museum from the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

By the early 2000s, the museum had over 60,000 objects. Today, it has the largest art collection in Ohio! In 2003, the Cincinnati Art Museum became even more connected to the community. It opened the popular Cincinnati Wing, which was the first permanent display of a city's art history in the entire country. Also, on May 17, 2003, the museum made general admission free forever! This was made possible by The Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation. In 2005, the Art Academy of Cincinnati officially moved from the museum's campus.

As of June 2020, the Cincinnati Art Museum and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park were undergoing big renovations. This included a new outdoor art space called "Art Climb." Art Climb is a staircase that goes from the street up to the museum entrance. It has many steps and opens up the museum grounds. It also connects the museum to nearby areas and provides a place for outdoor artworks.

Art Collection

The Cincinnati Art Museum has many paintings by famous European artists. These include works by Sandro Botticelli (like Judith with Head of Holofernes), Frans Hals, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and Peter Paul Rubens. The collection also features paintings by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso. The museum also has a large collection of paintings by American artist Frank Duveneck.

Le pain et les œufs, par Paul Cézanne
Le pain et les oeufs, a painting by Paul Cézanne

In 2022, something exciting happened! The museum discovered a hidden portrait under Paul Cézanne's 1865 painting Still Life with Bread and Eggs. The museum's main art restorer, Serena Urry, noticed strange cracks in the painting. She had a feeling there was something more, so she had it X-rayed. That's how they found the hidden portrait!

The museum's Decorative Arts and Design collection has over 7,000 works. These include pieces by artists like Paul de Lamerie, Karen LaMonte, and Kataro Shirayamadani.

Selections from the Permanent Collection

Exhibitions and Programs

The Cincinnati Art Museum hosts several special exhibitions each year. These shows feature art from all over the country and the world. Each exhibition also has public programs, fun activities, and special events for visitors. Past exhibitions have included "Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men" and "No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man."

The museum has changed how it plans special exhibitions. Instead of spending a lot of money on big traveling shows, they now focus on their own amazing collection. For example, in 2010, they created "See America," which was nine smaller shows. These shows highlighted different parts of the country using art already owned by the museum. This approach has made the museum more popular, with attendance increasing by 30 percent!

Visiting the Museum

Admission and Hours

It's great news for visitors: general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is always free! This includes access to its 73 permanent collection galleries. The Rosenthal Education Center (REC), a fun, interactive space for families, is also free. This is thanks to generous support from The Richard and Lois Rosenthal Foundation, the Thomas J. Emery Endowment, and the Cincinnati Financial Corporation.

The Art Museum is located at 953 Eden Park Drive in Eden Park. It is open from Tuesdays through Sundays.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Museo de Arte de Cincinnati para niños

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