George Eastman Museum facts for kids
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George Eastman Museum
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George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York
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| Location | 900 East Avenue, Rochester, New York, United States |
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| Built | 1905 1949 (museum opened) |
| Architect | J. Foster Warner McKim, Mead and White (interiors) |
| Architectural style | Georgian Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000529 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | November 13, 1966 |
The George Eastman Museum, also called George Eastman House, is a special place in Rochester, New York. It's the world's oldest museum focused on photography. It's also one of the oldest places that saves and stores film archives. The museum opened to the public in 1949.
This museum is famous for its huge collections of photos and movies. It's also a leader in keeping old films and photographs safe. Experts from all over the world come here to learn how to preserve these important items. The museum is located on the former home of George Eastman, who started the Eastman Kodak Company. His home became a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
Contents
History of the Museum
When George Eastman (1854–1932) passed away, he left his large home in Rochester to the University of Rochester. For ten years, the university presidents lived in Eastman's mansion. In 1948, the university gave the property to the museum. The beautiful Georgian Revival Style mansion was then changed to fit the museum's needs.
The George Eastman House officially became a museum in 1947. From the very beginning, its goal was to collect, protect, and show the history of photography and film. The museum first opened on November 9, 1949. It showed its main collections in the rooms where Eastman used to welcome guests. In October 2015, the museum changed its name to the George Eastman Museum.
The museum's first collections included photos from the Civil War by Alexander Gardner. It also had historical items from the Eastman Kodak Company. A huge collection of 19th-century French photography from Gabriel Cromer was also part of it. Over time, the museum has received many donations. These include entire collections from famous photographers and thousands of motion pictures.
By 1984, the museum needed more space. Its collections were growing very fast, and it was becoming hard to store and study everything. In 1985, the Smithsonian Institution was offered control of the museum. However, Kodak stepped in and gave the museum a large donation. This money helped the museum stay in Rochester and build more space.
In January 1989, the museum opened its new, larger facility to the public. This helped them store and display more of their amazing collections.
In 1996, the museum opened the Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center. This center, located nearby, is one of only a few places in the U.S. that saves old films. It stores rare 35 mm films made on a special material called cellulose nitrate. That same year, the museum started the first school in the U.S. to teach film preservation. This school, called the L. Jeffrey Selznick School, teaches how to restore and protect old movies.
In 1999, the George Eastman Museum started another important program. It's called the Mellon Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation. This program trains top experts from around the world to save and care for old photographs. The museum has also put on many important art shows. One famous show was New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape in 1975.
Museum Leadership
Museum Directors
The current director of the George Eastman Museum is Bruce Barnes. He started in this role in September 2012.
| Name | Tenure |
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| Oscar N. Solbert | 1947–1958 |
| Beaumont Newhall | 1958–1971 |
| Van Deren Coke | 1971–1972 |
| Robert J. Doherty | 1972–1981 |
| Robert A. Mayer | 1981–1989 |
| James L. Enyeart | 1989–1995 |
| Anthony Bannon | 1996–2012 |
| Bruce Barnes | 2012–present |
Board of Trustees
The George Eastman Museum is guided by a group of people called the board of trustees. Nannette Nocon is currently the leader of this board.
Museum Finances
The George Eastman Museum's yearly budget is about $10 million. As of December 2014, it had over $35 million saved in its special fund.
Museum Collections
The museum has an amazing collection of items. It includes over 400,000 photographs and negatives. These photos show the history of photography from its beginning until today. There are also 28,000 motion picture films.
Beyond films, the museum has three million other movie-related items. These include letters, scripts, music scores, posters, and pictures from movies. It also has more than 16,000 items of photographic and movie-making technology. There's also a large library of books and magazines about photography and movies. Finally, it holds George Eastman's own home furnishings, letters, and personal items.
Photography Collection
The photography collection shows how cameras and photos have changed over time. It includes very rare items and famous works of art. These items show how photography became a way to document history and express feelings. More than 14,000 photographers are featured in the collection. This includes almost all the major artists in photography history.
Important parts of the collection include:
- One of the world's largest collections of daguerreotypes. These are very early types of photographs.
- Many 19th-century photos of the American West. These were taken by famous photographers like Carleton Watkins and Eadweard Muybridge.
- A large collection of glass negatives from the French photojournalist Charles Chusseau-Flaviens.
- The personal photo collections of Lewis Hine, Edward Steichen, and Ansel Adams.
The museum also has works by modern artists. These include Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, and Vik Muniz.
Moving Image Collection
The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection is one of the biggest film archives in the United States. It was started in 1949 by James Card. He helped make the museum a leader in saving films. The collection has over 25,000 movie titles. It also has over 3 million other items, like movie stills, posters, and papers. The museum also holds all the moving-image works by artist William Kentridge.
George Eastman Legacy Collection
This collection includes George Eastman's actual house. It also has the George Eastman Archive and Study Center. This center opened in April 1999. It holds Eastman's personal belongings and documents about the early days of Kodak. It has over half a million items stored in a special, climate-controlled room. You can visit this archive from the second floor of his house. Inside the house, you can see parts of Eastman's coffin, a mounted elephant head, and a large Aeolian pipe organ.
Museum Fire Incident
On May 30, 1978, a fire affected four buildings at the museum. Some rare movie films and old photographs were lost. This included original negatives for some cartoons made before 1951. However, the damage was not as bad as first thought.
George Eastman Awards
The George Eastman Museum started the George Eastman Award in 1955. This award honors people who have made great contributions to the art of film. It was the first award given by an American film museum to celebrate important artistic work.
Award Recipients
- 1965 – Fred Astaire (Actor)
- 1973 – Johnny Weissmuller (Actor)
- 1975 – Blanche Sweet (Actor)
- 1976 – George Cukor (Director), Karl Struss (Cinematographer)
- 1978 – James Stewart (Actor), Willard Van Dyke (Director)
- 1982 – Joan Bennett (Actor), Louise Brooks (Actor), Dolores del Río (Actor), Myrna Loy (Actor), Maureen O'Sullivan (Actor), Luise Rainer (Actor), Sylvia Sidney (Actor)
- 1987 – Gregory Peck (Actor)
- 1990 – Lauren Bacall (Actor)
- 1992 – Audrey Hepburn (Actor)
- 1994 – Martin Scorsese (Filmmaker)
- 1997 – Isabella Rossellini (Actor)
- 1999 – Meryl Streep (Actor)
- 2003 – Kim Novak (Actor)
- 2012 – Richard Gere (Actor, Activist)
- 2013 – Roger Corman (Director, Producer, Distributor)
- 2015 – Michael Douglas (Actor, Producer)
- 2016 – Michael Keaton (Actor)
- 2017 – Vittorio Storaro (Cinematographer)
- 2019 – Julia Roberts (Actor, Producer)
- 2023 - Jodie Foster (Actor, Director)
George Eastman's Estate
George Eastman built his home at 900 East Avenue between 1902 and 1905. He created a unique property in the city. It had 10.5 acres (about 42,500 square meters) of farmland, gardens, and stables. The main house was a huge 35,000 square foot (about 3,250 square meters) mansion with 50 rooms. It was built to be fireproof using reinforced concrete.
Eastman's house looked like a classic Georgian Revival building. But inside, it had many modern features for its time. These included its own electrical generator and an internal phone system with 21 phones. It also had a built-in vacuum cleaning system, a central clock, an elevator, and a large Aeolian pipe organ. Eastman used his home as a center for music in the city from 1905 until he passed away in 1932.
His estate was named a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
See also
In Spanish: George Eastman Museum para niños
