Fleming Museum of Art facts for kids
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| Former name | Robert Hull Fleming Museum |
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| Established | 1931 |
| Location | 61 Colchester Avenue Burlington, Vermont |
| Type | Art museum |
| Owner | University of Vermont |
The Fleming Museum of Art is a cool place to explore art and learn about different cultures (that's anthropology!) at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. This museum has a huge collection of about 24,000 objects. These items come from many different times and places around the world.
People often say the museum is a really important spot for the community. It brings in all kinds of visitors. This includes students from the University of Vermont, other local colleges, and people from the general public.
Contents
How the Museum Started
The University of Vermont started collecting art and interesting objects way back in 1826. A group of professors and others created the College of Natural History. This group was separate from the university. But they kept their collections in a building called the Old Mill. They wanted to gather and share knowledge about natural history. Their first collections included things like fossils and stuffed birds. They even had a sperm whale tooth and a cannon ball!
The collection grew too big for the Old Mill. So, it moved to Torrey Hall in 1862. Later, a third floor was added to Torrey Hall. This new space was for the university's fine art collection. It became known as the Park Gallery of Fine Arts. By the late 1920s, this space was also getting too small.
A New Museum Building
The modern Fleming Museum of Art began in 1929. A woman named Katherine Wolcott visited Burlington. She was the niece of Robert Hull Fleming. He had graduated from the University of Vermont in 1862. He became a very rich grain merchant in Chicago. Katherine was an artist herself. She wanted to create a scholarship to honor her late uncle.
Katherine met with the university president, Guy Bailey. He suggested building a brand new museum. It would be named after her uncle, Robert Hull Fleming. Katherine liked this idea. She donated $150,000 to build the museum. Soon after, another person, James B. Wilbur, gave a large gift. He donated $100,000 and his huge collection of books and papers. These papers included important documents from Ethan Allen. They were all about the history of Vermont.
These two gifts helped pay for the museum's $300,000 building cost. Katherine Wolcott also gave another $150,000 for an endowment. This money helps the museum run for a long time. The museum officially opened its doors in 1931.
Early Focus on Community
The University of Vermont was one of the first to have a room just for kids. This showed how much they cared about community service and education. The museum offered free movies, lectures, and workshops every Saturday. They also had a program that sent exhibits to schools. Adults could take evening classes and attend lectures too.
In the mid-1930s, many people visited the museum. Between 25,000 and 30,000 people came each year. At that time, Burlington had about 27,000 residents. This shows how popular the museum was!
Changes Over Time
The museum helped the University of Vermont grow. The university's studio art and art history departments actually started at the Fleming Museum. In the 1950s, the museum's director was also the head of the university's art department.
Later in the 1950s, the museum changed its main focus. It became more of an art museum. Many of the original objects, like those from the "cabinet of curiosities", were moved. They went to different university departments. This made more space for new art pieces.
The museum had a big renovation in 1984. It cost $1.4 million. Until 2014, the museum was known as the Robert Hull Fleming Museum. The previous director, Janie Cohen, led the museum for 20 years.
What You Can See: Museum Collections
The Fleming Museum has many different collections. Here are some of them:
- African Art. This collection mostly features sculptures from West and Central Africa. You can see old pieces like a Queen Mother sculpture head from Benin (from the 1700s). There are also Ashanti gold weights and a Mende sowo mask. Newer works include a telephone-wire basket from South Africa.
- American Art. This collection focuses on American art from the 1800s and 1900s. It includes landscapes, prints, drawings, and photographs. You can also see early Rookwood pottery and Vermont wedding gowns. Many works are by Vermont artists. Famous artists like John James Audubon, Winslow Homer, and Andy Warhol are represented here.
- Ancient Art and Archaeology. This part of the museum has objects from ancient times. These artifacts come from Ancient Egypt, the Near East, and the Mediterranean. There are also items from prehistoric Vermont. A cool piece is a 3,000-year-old bas-relief from an Assyrian palace. Other items include Sumerian cuneiform tablets and Greek pottery. There are over 400 Egyptian objects, including a mummy and its coffin!
- Asian Art. The Asian collection has many different objects. These include Shang Dynasty bronze vessels and Tang Dynasty Tomb figures from China. You can also see Korean ceramics and Japanese lacquerware. A special part of the Japanese collection is a complete set of Hiroshige's Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō prints. There are also sculptures and decorative art from Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma.
- European Art. This collection has many European works. It focuses on paintings and prints from Northern Europe from the 1500s and 1600s. There are also British portraits from the 1700s. The museum has a full copy of the Description de l'Égypte. This book was made after Napoleon's trip to Egypt. Some of the oldest items are illuminated manuscripts from the 1200s. Artists like Albrecht Dürer and Auguste Rodin are featured.
- Native American Art. This collection is in the James B. Petersen Gallery. It reopened in 2006 after being updated. It has about 2,000 objects. These items date back to around 800 CE. They come from many places in North and South America. You can see beadwork and quillwork from the Northern Plains. There are also Southwestern objects like ceramics and baskets. A special item is the "Colchester Jar." This ceramic pot is about 500 years old. It was found in Vermont in the early 1800s.
- Oceanic Art. This collection has artifacts from Oceania. These include objects from New Guinea, Easter Island, and the Solomon Islands. Important pieces include Tatanua ceremonial masks from New Ireland. There are also Trobriand shields and modern Aboriginal paintings from Australia.
- Pre-Columbian Art. The museum has many artifacts from the time before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. These include textiles, stone carvings, and ceramics. You can see jars, bowls, and effigies (sculptures) of humans and animals.
The Museum Building
The Fleming Museum building was designed by William Mitchell Kendall. He was part of a famous New York City architectural firm called McKim, Mead & White. This firm also designed other buildings at the University of Vermont. The museum building is a great example of Colonial Revival architecture. It has red bricks and white wood trim. You can see special architectural parts like pediments and columns.
Inside the Museum
The Marble Court was the museum's first main entrance. It has a two-story central courtyard. Columns support a balcony on the second floor. Katherine Wolcott, the museum's first big donor, had the idea for this design. She even drew a sketch! The Marble Court uses beautiful marble from Italy, France, and Vermont. This marble is used for the grand staircase, columns, and floors.
Another important room is the Wilbur Room. It has walnut wall paneling. The white plaster ceiling has a special groin-vaulted shape. It also has decorative scrolls with names like Ethan Allen. These are names of people important to Vermont's early history. The room also has a huge brass chandelier. The Wilbur Room is named after James B. Wilbur. This room first held Wilbur's collection of historical papers. These papers are now a key part of the university's library collections.
In 1984, the museum was renovated. The entrance was moved from the front to the back of the building. This made it easier for everyone to get in. New additions included a climate control system. There were also new display cases in the hallways and a new reception area. The museum also got a new store. The changes made the gallery spaces more flexible for different exhibits. The original brick back wall of the building was kept as an inside wall in the new addition.
