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Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University
IU Art Museum.jpg
Established 1941; 84 years ago (1941)
Location 1133 E 7th St,
Indiana University,
Bloomington, Indiana
Type Art Museum

The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art is a cool art museum at Indiana University Bloomington. It first opened in 1941 as the Indiana University Museum of Art. The university president at the time, Herman B Wells, wanted it to be a "cultural crossroads." This means a place where different cultures and ideas could meet through art.

The building you see today was designed by a famous architect, I. M. Pei, and opened in 1982. The museum has about 45,000 art pieces! Around 1,400 of these are on display for you to see. The collection includes everything from ancient jewelry to paintings by famous artists like Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock. In 2016, the museum was renamed after Sidney and Lois Eskenazi. They gave a very generous gift to help the museum grow. You can find the museum on the Indiana University Bloomington campus.

A Look Back: Museum History

The Eskenazi Museum of Art first opened its doors in 1941. It was located in a gallery space inside Mitchell Hall. The first art show featured "Sixteen Brown County Painters." The goal back then was to bring different art shows to campus. This way, students could see and study original artworks. They wanted to show many types of art, both old and new.

Starting the Permanent Collection

It took some time to start a permanent collection of art. This means art that the museum owns and keeps forever. After World War II, in 1955, art collectors James and Marvelle Adams donated a sculpture. This inspired Henry Radford Hope, who was in charge, to build a permanent collection. A special fund helped buy most of the early artworks. Hope also gave some important pieces, like Pablo Picasso's The Studio. Many gifts of art came to the museum in the late 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

Moving to a New Building

In 1962, the museum moved to a new gallery space. It was in the Fine Arts building on campus. The university started giving the museum money each year to help it grow its collection. In 1968, Thomas T. Solley joined the museum. He became the director in 1971. Solley was an architect, which was perfect for planning a separate building for the museum.

He wanted a famous architect to design the new building. So, in 1974, I.M. Pei and Partners were chosen. The new building was finished in 1982. It had three galleries for the permanent collections. It also had one gallery for special, temporary art shows. Solley helped the museum's collection grow a lot. It went from 4,000 artworks to 30,000 during his time!

Recent Changes and Renovation

Adelheid M. Gealt became director in 1987. She led the museum until 2015. Under her leadership, the museum received a big grant in 2012. David A. Brenneman became the new director in 2015.

In 2016, Sidney and Lois Eskenazi gave $15 million to the museum. This huge gift helped pay for a full renovation of the building. The museum was renamed in their honor. It closed in May 2017 for the updates. The renovation was finished in 2019, and the museum reopened in November of that year.

In late 2023, the museum canceled an art show by artist Samia Halaby. She had graduated from the university in 1963. A university spokesperson said the show was canceled due to "concerns about guaranteeing the integrity of the exhibit." Halaby said the museum director told her about staff concerns over her social media posts. These posts supported Palestinian causes. Several groups that support free expression asked the university to bring the exhibition back. Another museum, the Broad Art Museum, plans to host the exhibition as planned in June 2024.

Amazing Art Collections

The museum has four main galleries for its permanent collections. These are artworks that always stay at the museum.

  • The Jane Fortune Gallery shows European and American art up to the 18th century.
  • The Modern and Contemporary gallery features European and American art from the 19th century onward.
  • The Ancient, Asian, and Islamic Art gallery displays art from these regions.
  • The Raymond and Laura Wielgus Gallery shows art from Africa, Oceania, and Indigenous art of the Americas.

Besides these, there are three galleries for rotating exhibitions. These shows change often.

  • The Special Exhibitions gallery hosts unique, temporary shows.
  • The Time-based Media Gallery focuses on art like film and new media.
  • The Rhonda and Anthony Moravec Gallery is in the Prints, Drawings, and Photographs Center.

Highlights of the Collections

In the Ancient, Asian, and Islamic Art gallery, you can see old Chinese porcelains. There are also Japanese paintings and classical Greek, Roman, and Etruscan vases. The Burton Y. Berry Collection has 5,000 pieces of ancient jewelry!

The museum also has works by German and Austrian Expressionists. These include artists like August Macke and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. You can also find art by early modern European and American masters. Some of these are Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, and Georges Braque. American abstract artists like Stuart Davis and Frank Stella are also featured.

The collection of works on paper includes important pieces by Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt. The photography collection has works by Henry Holmes Smith and Art Sinsabaugh. You can also see European Old Master paintings. These are by artists like Niccolo di Buonaccorso and Bernardo Strozzi. There are also 19th-century European paintings. These include works by Gustave Caillebotte and Claude Monet.

  • The female figure is displayed in a standing position with pointed feet and folded arms. Anatomical forms are minimal and stylized.

    Cycladic, attributed to the Goulandris Master. Woman, ca. 2500-2400 BCE. Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 76.25

  • Red-figure vase painting with Ionic building

    Late fourth-century BCE Greek red-figure volute krater. Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

  • A torso of a young man with legs broken off at the upper thigh, arms broken at the shoulder joints, and head broken off at the base of the neck. His body is twisted into an S-curve as if he was in a leaning position. He wears a panther skin draped over his right shoulder and wrapped across his chest.

    Roman, after Greek original by Praxiteles. Torso with Panther Skin, 100-200 CE. Marble, 33 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 11. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Adams and Dr. and Mrs. Henry R. Hope in memory of George Heighway, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 64.104

  • A female warrior is seated on the back of a rearing horse. She wears a one-shouldered tunic that flows behind her, a feathered helmet, a shield and jewelry, which are decorated with reds, browns, white, and gold. The horse's bridle and reins are similarly decorated.

    Greek. Amazon Riding Horse, 330-280 BCE. Terracotta, added color, and gold. Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 81.8

  • Bust of a man with curly hair and beard. He glances to his left. He wears a tunic and fringed cloak, fastened at his left shoulder with a circular brooch.

    Roman. Bust of Emperor Septimius Severus, 200-210 CE. Marble, 30 5/16 in. Gift of Thomas T. Solley, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 75.33.1

  • The head and torso of the emmaciated Buddha with halo. Traces of gilding remain in the crevices of the stone.

    Gandharan. Fasting Buddha, 2nd-3rd century CE. Schist with traces of gilding, 9 7/8 x 7 x 3 1/8 in. Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 79.53

  • Christ is the largest, central figure in a fantastical landscape filled with other figures and iconographic markers of his resurrection. Christ floats above his tomb, gesturing to show his stigmata, holding a staff with a cross, and adorned with a red robe and crown. In the distant background, the enthroned figure of Christ appears again in the clouds, surrounded by light.

    Master of the Holy Kinship (German, active 1480-1518 in Cologne). Resurrection, ca 1490. Oil on panel, 56 x 39 1/4 x 2 1/2. Given in memory of Marguerite Lilly Noyes by Thomas T. Solley, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 78.62.2

  • Seven women are gathered in a landscape, standing and sitting around an infant in a basket. At the center of the composition, one of the women points with her left hand to the infant. All of the women are finely dressed in bright, elaborate costumes while the infant is partially wrapped in a simple white cloth.

    Hendrick de Clerck (Flemish, ca. 1570-1630). The Finding of Moses, ca. 1600-1620. Oil on panel, 61 1/2 x 72 x 3 in. Gift of Mr. Stanley S. Wulc, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 66.24

  • A waist-length portrait of a man seated in a simple chair against a plain green background. He is wearing a red waistcost and blue coat, holding a rolled document in his right hand. His expression is neutral as he looks directly at us.

    Jean Louis Laneuville (French, 1748-1826). Portrait of Jean de Bry, ca. 1793. Oil on canvas, 34 x 29 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 77.54.1

Learning and Fun Programs

The museum offers many educational programs. Schools from over 50 counties in Indiana take part. This means about 7,000 students visit each year! The museum also works with 55 different university departments. They create tours based on what students are studying. They even have programs for rural communities. These include a "Look Club" for younger kids and a Creative Arts for Veterans program.

Public Programs for Everyone

There are also fun programs for the public.

  • A student-hosted visiting artist series: Here, modern artists talk about how they create their art.
  • Art and a Movie: This partners with the IU Cinema. They show films and then have special talks about art and history.
  • Docent-led gallery tours: These are guided tours led by trained volunteers who can tell you all about the art.
  • "Social Saturday" programs: These are designed for friends and family to enjoy the museum together.

New Learning Centers

After the renovation, four new learning centers were created. These help people learn more about the museum and its art.

  • The Center for Conservation helps take care of the artworks.
  • The Center for Curatorial Studies helps plan and organize art shows.
  • The Center for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs focuses on these specific types of art.
  • The Kimberly and John Simpson Center for Education helps create all the learning programs.

The Unique I.M. Pei Building

The museum building was designed by I.M. Pei and Partners. It was finished in 1982. The building is known for its cool angles. Many people think it has no right angles, but that's not true! The floors meet the walls at 90-degree angles. There are also many square and rectangular windows. The design features two concrete triangles connected by a glass-ceiling atrium. An atrium is a large, open space, often with a glass roof.

The museum is very big, about 105,000 square feet! About 38,361 square feet are for the art galleries. The atrium itself is 18,000 square feet. The rest of the space is used for offices, a gift shop, storage, and an outdoor Sculpture Terrace.

Cafe and Gift Shop

The Luzetta and Del Newkirk Café and Gift Shop is on the second floor. You can buy art-inspired gifts and souvenirs there. They also have food and drinks. You can sit inside or outside on the Sculpture Terrace.

In 2019, a cool art installation was added to the café. It's called A Gust of Wind by British designer Paul Cocksedge. It looks like a cloud of white paper sheets blowing into the museum from outside. It's made of special acrylic material.

The Light Totem

The Light Totem is a neat art installation outside the museum. It was put up in 2007 to celebrate the building's 25th anniversary. People on campus and in the community loved it so much that it became a permanent part of the museum in 2010.

Artist Robert Shakespeare used LEDs (light-emitting diodes) to light up the totem. There's a 70-foot tall tower outside. There's also a 40-foot tube inside the museum's atrium. The Light Totem lights up the museum wall with changing colors. Each section can project any color and change very quickly. The whole display uses very little electricity. It's about the same amount as a hair dryer and a toaster running at the same time! Students often lie on the ground outside, watching the colors change on the wall.

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