Crocker Art Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Crocker Art Museum
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Old and new buildings of the Crocker Art Museum.
Location	216 O St., Sacramento, California
Built	1871; addition 2010
Architect	Seth Babson (1871); Charles Gwathmey (2010)
Architectural style	Victorian Italianate; Classic Contemporary
NRHP reference No.	71000176
Added to NRHP	May 6, 1971

The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest art museum in the Western United States. It is located in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1885, the museum has one of the best collections of Californian art. Its collection includes American artworks from the California Gold Rush to today. You can also find European paintings, master drawings, and one of the largest international ceramics collections in the U.S. The museum also features Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker Art Museum is officially recognized by the American Alliance of Museums.

History of the Museum

Edwin B. Crocker (1818–1875) was a rich lawyer and judge in California. He and his wife, Margaret Crocker (1822–1901), started collecting many paintings and drawings. They did this during a long trip to Europe from 1869 to 1871. When they came back to Sacramento, they built an art gallery. This gallery was part of their large home at Third and O streets.

Once the gallery was finished, they opened it to the public. The money they earned helped fund the Sacramento Library. Their gallery had 694 paintings. This was the largest private collection in the country at the time. It even had more paintings than the Metropolitan Museum of Art! The gallery became a popular place in Sacramento. It hosted events for local groups and welcomed important visitors. These guests included the Hawaiian queen, Liliʻuokalani (1878), President Ulysses S. Grant (1879), and writer Oscar Wilde (1882).

A marble plaque at the Crocker Art Museum

Edwin B. Crocker passed away in 1875. In 1885, his wife Margaret loaned the gallery to the California Museum Association (CMA). This was for Central California's first Art and Curio Loan Exhibition. The exhibition lasted two weeks and was very successful. The CMA's president, David Lubin, convinced Margaret to donate the gallery and its collection. This was to make sure the gallery would be preserved for a long time. Margaret Crocker became a life director. She gave the E. B. Crocker Art Gallery and its collection to the City of Sacramento and the California Museum Association. The collection was valued at over $500,000 back then. An art school was also started at the gallery in 1886.

In 1978, the Crocker Art Gallery changed its name to the Crocker Art Museum. By 2002, the museum needed more space. Its collection was growing, and Sacramento's population was getting bigger. So, the museum hired Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects to design a large new addition. The much bigger Crocker Art Museum officially opened on October 10, 2010.

What Art Can You See?

Charles Christian Nahl, Sunday Morning in the Mines (1872)

Californian and American Art

The Californian art collection shows works from when California became a state until now. The main part of the early Californian art collection was put together by Judge E. B. and Margaret Crocker in the early 1870s. A famous artist in their collection was Charles Christian Nahl. He was known for his large, detailed paintings of the California Gold Rush. The Crockers asked Nahl to create five major artworks, including Sunday Morning in the Mines (1872).

The Californian collection kept growing over time. Now it includes 150 years of paintings, sculptures, and crafts. It covers styles like Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art. Some well-known artists featured are Amanda Austin, William Keith, Thomas Hill, Guy Rose, Joan Brown, and Wayne Thiebaud.

The museum also has American art from the late 1800s to today. It has a strong collection of American Impressionist and modern artists. These include Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Hans Hofmann.

Gerrit van Honthorst's Allegory of Painting (1648).

European Art

The European art collection started with the Crocker family's trip to Europe. They traveled mostly in Germany from 1869 to 1871. The Crockers bought many paintings, hoping to get masterpieces. They ended up with over 700 paintings. While some were not by the famous artists they thought, they still acquired many rare and important works. For a short time, the Crockers had the largest private art collection in the United States.

Oedipus and Antigone by German painter Franz Dietrich was among the works collected by E.B. and Margaret Crocker.

Besides paintings, the Crockers also bought 1,344 Old Master drawings. These drawings are now being studied to learn more about their history. Many German and Central European paintings from the 1800s were part of Crocker's purchases. These form the main part of the European collection. It also includes 17th-century Flemish and Dutch Golden Age still lifes and everyday scenes. There are also French and Italian works from the 17th and 18th centuries. Artists like Maarten van Heemskerck, Jan Brueghel the Elder, and Claude-Joseph Vernet are represented.

Salome (1626–1627) by Simon Vouet.

More recently, generous gifts have added to the European collection. These include works by Italian artists like Guercino and Bernardo Strozzi. French artists like Simon Vouet and Philippe de Champaigne are also now part of the collection. The museum also has some important works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. These were given by his grandson, Alain Renoir.

Works on Paper

The museum has about 1,500 Old Master drawings. These include examples from major European art schools. The collection is especially strong in European drawings from the 17th and 18th centuries. You can see important drawings by artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Fra Bartolommeo, and François Boucher. The collection also features American photography and modern California prints.

Gilt bronze Vasudhara from Nepal, 12th century.

Asian Art

The Asian art collection started with a gift of Korean ceramics. This gift came from Judge E.B. and Margaret Crocker's daughter, Jennie Crocker Fassett, in the 1920s. The collection is known for its Chinese tomb items and trade ceramics. It also has Japanese armor and tea ware. Art from South and Southeast Asia is also well represented. This includes over 600 Indian and Persian miniature paintings and drawings. There is also Buddhist art from the region between Pakistan and Southeast Asia.

Ceramics

Since the mid-1900s, the museum has collected works by famous Californian, American, and international ceramists. These include artists like Hamada Shoji and Lucie Rie. The history of ceramics is also shown through a collection of 18th-century Meissen porcelain tableware. You can also see works from ancient cultures, going back to the Neolithic period.

African and Oceanic Art

The collection of African and Oceanic art features many objects. These were created for daily life and traditional ceremonies. The art of the Asmat from New Guinea is very striking. You can see their tall memorials to ancestors, called bis poles.

Special Art Shows

The museum holds a special art show every two years, called a biennial exhibition. It has been held with the Kingsley Art Club since 1927. Artists whose works have been shown include Robert Arneson, Elmer Bischoff, Mel Ramos, and Wayne Thiebaud.

Museum Buildings

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  This is an old picture of Mrs. E.B Crocker's home around 1880. It later became the Crocker Art Museum. The building in the front was the family home. The building to the right, with its own entrance, held the art gallery. Both are now part of the museum.

The Original Crocker Mansion and Art Gallery

The Crocker family mansion, now part of the museum

In 1868, Judge Edwin B. Crocker bought the property at Third and O Streets. An existing building, built in 1853, was already there. In 1871, he hired Seth Babson (1830–1908), a local architect. Crocker asked Babson to add a new building to his home. This new building would hold his growing art collection. Babson designed an elaborate gallery building in the Italianate style. It would sit next to the mansion and display the family's art.

The historic Art Gallery building

Babson saw the home and gallery as one connected design. The gallery building had a bowling alley, skating rink, and billiards room on the ground floor. On the first floor, there was a natural history museum and a library. It also featured a 60-foot-long ballroom and a grand staircase. Public rooms were decorated with gold-leafed and painted panels. They were separated by long mirrors. The Crocker family mansion and art gallery were finished in 1874. They are considered Babson's best work.

The family mansion was used for different things over the years. It also went through several changes. In 1989, a renovation restored its historic look. It also created a modern gallery inside.

The 2010 Expansion

On October 10, 2010, the Crocker Art Museum opened a new 100,000 square foot building. It was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects. This new building is called the Teel Family Pavilion. It is connected to the museum's older historic structures.

The expansion made the Crocker's size more than triple. It grew from 45,000 to 145,000 square feet. This added four times more space for traveling exhibitions. It also added three times more space to show the museum's permanent collection. Before, only 4 percent of the museum's collection could be displayed. After the new section opened, 15 percent could be shown.

The expanded museum now includes a new education center. This center has four art classrooms. It also has a resource room for teachers and guides. There is an expanded library and galleries for student and community art shows. Plus, there is an auditorium and public gathering areas.

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  The Teel Family Pavilion, the new wing of the Crocker Art Museum.

Selected Artworks

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  David de Heem I (c.1570-c.1632), Still Life with Fruit

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  Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli (called Il Morazzone), The Virgin Annunciate, 1605-1609

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  Guercino, Saint Peter, 1650

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  Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789), Cain and Abel Bringing Their Sacrifices

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  Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich, The Holy Family in a Carpenter's Shop, c. 1746

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  Alexander Roslin, Anne Vallayer-Coster, 1783

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  Pierre-Alexandre Wille (1748-1837), Portrait of a Young Boy

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  Thomas Hill, Sugar Loaf Peak, El Dorado County, 1865

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  Stephen William Shaw, E.B. Crocker, 1872

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  Thomas Hill, Great Canyon of the Sierra, Yosemite, 1872

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  Charles Christian Nahl, The Fandango, 1873

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  Albert Bierstadt, A Golden Summer Day Near Oakland, 1873

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  Jules Tavernier, Marin Sunset in Back of Petaluma, early 1880s

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  Theodore Wores, Chinese Restaurant, 1884

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  Edwin Deakin, She Will Come Tomorrow, 1888

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  Édouard-Antoine Marsal, In the Artist's Studio, 1889

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  William Keith, After California Rain, 1890s

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  Edwin Deakin, Strawberry Creek, Berkeley, 1892

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  Edwin Deakin, Notre Dame, Paris, 1893

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  Childe Hassam, An Outdoor Portrait of Miss Weir, 1909

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  Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Cagnes Landscape, 1910

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  Arthur Frank Mathews, Vision of Saint Francis, 1911

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  Edwin Deakin, Palace of Fine Arts and the Lagoon, 1915

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  Colin Campbell Cooper, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, 1916

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  Guy Rose, Monterey Cypress, c. 1918

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  Jack Frost, The Beach, Santa Monica, 1921

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  Joseph Kleitsch, The Oriental Shop, 1922