Lauren Rogers Museum of Art facts for kids
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| Established | 1923 |
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| Location | 565 N. Fifth Avenue Laurel, Mississippi, United States |
| Type | Art museum |
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is a special place in Laurel, Mississippi, United States. It was the very first art museum in Mississippi! It opened its doors in 1923 to remember a young man named Lauren Eastman Rogers.
This museum has amazing collections, including many Native American baskets. You can also see beautiful American art by famous painters like Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. About 32,000 people visit the museum every year. The building itself is also a work of art, designed by Rathbone DeBuys from New Orleans.
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A Look Back: How the Museum Started
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art first opened on May 1, 1923. It was created to honor Lauren Eastman Rogers, who was the only son and grandson of two important families in Laurel. Lauren passed away in 1921 at just 23 years old.
After Lauren's death, his father, Wallace Brown Rogers, and his grandfather, Lauren Chase Eastman, wanted to create something special. They started the Eastman Memorial Foundation. Their goal was to build a public library, museum, and art gallery in Mississippi. The museum building was actually being built as Lauren and his wife Lelia's home before he passed away.
The Eastman, Gardiner, and Rogers families moved to Laurel, Mississippi, from Clinton, Iowa, in the 1890s. They came for the timber business. These families helped build the city of Laurel, creating parks and schools. Lauren Rogers was expected to take over the family business and continue their good work in the community. Even though he died young, his family made sure his legacy lived on by creating this museum in his name.
Over the years, the museum has been used for different things. The original building was not just an art gallery; it also held the town's library! The first collection shown was a large group of baskets. These were given to the museum in 1923 by Lauren Rogers' great-aunt, Catherine Marshall Gardiner.
In 1925, a new part of the museum was finished. This added five art galleries on the first floor. The Laurel Library Association used the lower level until 1979. The new galleries soon filled with paintings from the 1800s and 1900s. These were donated by the Rogers and Eastman families. This collection includes works by famous artists like Winslow Homer and Albert Bierstadt. You can still see these amazing paintings today! In 1953, Lauren's wife, Lelia Rogers, added a Reading Room. She filled it with furniture from her in-laws' home and a portrait of Lauren.
The museum building was designed by Rathbone DeBuys from New Orleans. The inside was decorated by Watson and Walton from Chicago. The walls are covered in beautiful golden oak wood. You can also see amazing ironwork made by Samuel Yellin. The ceilings have hand-molded plaster by Leon Hermant. The museum floors are made of cork, which has been used in all the new additions too.
Amazing Collections You Can Explore
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art has five main types of collections. These include American art, European paintings, Native American baskets, Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, and British Georgian silver.
American Art
This is one of the museum's largest collections. It includes American paintings, sculptures, and drawings. Many of these works were given by Lauren Chase Eastman, Lauren Rogers' grandfather, in the 1920s and 1930s. Other important pieces were donated by Lauren's parents, Nina and Wallace B. Rogers. These collectors loved paintings of landscapes and portraits. Most of the artworks are not too big, as they were once displayed in private homes.
The landscape paintings mostly date from the late 1800s onwards. You can see works from the Hudson River School, which was the first group of painters to focus on American landscapes. Artists like John Frederick Kensett and Albert Bierstadt are part of this group. They were inspired by the Romantic movement and wanted to show the beauty of nature. Later, American Impressionists in the early 1900s used landscapes to express themselves. Artists like John Henry Twachtman painted quiet scenes, sometimes almost like abstract art. Since the 1930s, the museum has added more modern landscape paintings. These include works by Mississippi artists like Marie Hull and William Dunlap.
British Georgian Silver
Most of the silver in this collection was given by Harriet and Thomas Gibbons. Thomas Gibbons was the publisher of the Laurel Leader-Call newspaper from the 1920s to 1959. Harriet Gibbons was the editor. They both loved silver, and their collection is beautiful. It mostly features fancy silver items used for English "high tea."
The term "Georgian" refers to the time between 1714 and 1830. During this period, the style of English silver changed. In the early 1700s, silver had lots of fancy decorations from the Baroque and Rococo styles. By the end of the Georgian period, a simpler, more classic style became popular. This style was inspired by ancient Greece and Rome.
European Paintings
The museum has about 65 European artworks from the 1600s to the 1900s. Many of these were given by the Eastman and Rogers families when the museum first started. These include famous works like Jean-François Millet's First Steps (1856), which later inspired Vincent van Gogh. You can also see Landscape Near Paris (around 1885) by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, who is seen as one of the first modern painters.
The oldest artwork in the collection is an etching by Rembrandt van Rijn called Virgin and Child with Cat (1654). It shows Mary and baby Jesus inside a home. A legend says that the Madonna's cat had kittens in the stable where Christ was born. In the etching, a cat is next to Mary, and Joseph looks in through a window. This small etching is one of many Bible stories Rembrandt illustrated.
Japanese Woodblock Prints
The Japanese Gallery displays ukiyo-e woodblock prints from the Edo Period (1600-1868). The word ukiyo-e means "images of the floating world." This refers to the fun and entertainment areas of Japanese cities, especially Kyoto and Tokyo (which was called Edo back then). The most popular subjects were things like actors, dancers, and scenes from the Kabuki theater. Later, artists like Hiroshige used the ukiyo-e style to create beautiful landscapes, such as his Thirty-Six Views of Fuji (around 1828-1833).
Native American Baskets
Around 1900, Catherine Marshall Gardiner, Lauren Rogers' great-aunt, became very interested in collecting Native American baskets. Her husband, George Schuyler Gardiner, encouraged her. At first, she wanted to collect only new baskets. But soon, she became fascinated by older, more detailed pieces. She became one of the top collectors during what is called "the golden age of basket collecting." Catherine traveled and met with basket dealers, other collectors, and even the weavers themselves.
By 1923, she had collected almost 500 baskets! She donated them to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. This collection became one of the best examples of North American Native basketry in the Southeastern United States. Catherine wrote that it was "a work of great charm." Over the years, the museum has added more baskets, especially from the Southeast. But Catherine's original collection is still the heart of it.
The Museum Today
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art has grown and changed along with the city of Laurel. In the late 1900s and early 2000s, parts of the museum's building were updated. More artworks were added to the collections. A new addition was finished in 1983, designed by Micheal Foil. This included a new gallery for visiting exhibits and a grand staircase made of black marble. More recently, a large glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly was placed above this staircase. Another addition in 2013 created the Sanderson Gallery.
The museum continues to be an important part of the community. It hosts many events and educational programs. These include the annual Blues Bash and Museum Gala. During the summer, the museum offers art camps and free family art days. The museum also holds activities in other places, like city centers, and runs Artreach art camps.
In 2018, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art celebrated its 95th year. It is still free to enter, thanks to the support of many donors and visitors. Donations are always welcome to help keep the museum going.
