McMaster Museum of Art facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
McMaster Museum of Art

Former name	McMaster Art Gallery (1967–1994)
Established	1967
Location	McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Type	Art museum
Visitors	30,000 (2015–16)
Public transit access	Hamilton Street Railway: 1 King 5 Delaware

The McMaster Museum of Art (MMA) is a cool art gallery at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. It's a place where everyone can visit and enjoy art. You can find it right in the middle of the university campus. It's connected to the Mills Memorial Library and close to the student center.

A Look Back: History of the Museum

McMaster University started way back in 1887 in Toronto. Soon after, they began collecting art, mostly portraits of important people. In the 1930s, the Carnegie Institute gave them some European prints. This gift helped the university start collecting art more seriously. By the 1950s, they were regularly showing art in the Mills Memorial Library.

Finding a Home for Art

In 1967, the McMaster Art Gallery got its own special building. This was thanks to Dr. Togo Salmon, who was a history professor. The gallery was in the east wing of a building named after him, Togo Salmon Hall.

Later, the gallery moved to a bigger spot on campus. It opened to the public on June 11, 1994, with a new name: the McMaster Museum of Art. Five years later, the building was renamed the Alvin A. Lee Building. This was to honor Alvin A. Lee, a former university president. He was a big supporter of the museum and helped make the new building possible.

What You Can Do at the Museum

The McMaster Museum of Art always has something new to see! They show art from different times, including old, modern, and new art. Besides showing art, the museum also hosts many fun events.

Fun Events and Learning

You can attend "lunch and learn" sessions, where you can eat and learn about art. Artists sometimes visit to talk about their work. The museum also offers workshops where you can try making art yourself.

The museum has a special room called the Education Gallery. This room is used for talks and studying. It also has a small library with books, artist information, and exhibition catalogs.

If you are a member of certain art galleries in Ontario, you might get free entry to the McMaster Museum of Art. This is part of a special program with the Ontario Association of Art Galleries.

Amazing Art Collection

The museum's collection grew with help from many people. Professors Karl Denner and George Wallace helped build the collection of German Expressionist art in the early 1960s.

Special Gifts to the Collection

A big moment for the museum was in the 1980s. A jeweler from Hamilton named Herman Levy gave over 200 European artworks. This made the museum famous in the Canadian art world. Later, he left a huge gift of $15.25 million to the museum. He wanted this money to be spent on buying art from outside North America within five years.

More recently, the Donald Murray Shepherd Trust also gave money. This helped the museum buy modern European art from famous artists. These artists include David Bomberg, Christian Rohlfs, and Natalia Goncharova.

What You Can See

The museum has over 7,000 art pieces in its permanent collection. It's one of the best university collections in Canada! Here are some of the types of art you can find:

• Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art: This includes beautiful paintings by artists like Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Vincent van Gogh.
• Early 20th-century German Prints: You can see works by artists such as Otto Dix and Käthe Kollwitz.
• European Old Master Paintings: These are paintings and prints from the 16th century.
• Modern and Contemporary European Art: This section features art from the 20th century to today. Artists include Marcel Duchamp and Anish Kapoor.
• Canadian Art: You'll find historical works by the Group of Seven, including Tom Thomson. There are also modern works by artists like Barbara Astman.
• Inuit Art: This collection focuses on prints and sculptures from Cape Dorset.
• Ancient Art: These are very old objects from ancient times.

The museum also has a "Paper Centre" with over 4,000 prints, drawings, and watercolors. You can see these by making an appointment.

The Bruce Brace Coin Collection

The museum is also home to the Bruce Brace Coin Collection. This collection has coins and medallions from ancient Rome and Greece. These coins help experts learn about daily life and trade in those ancient times. Some coins are from as early as the fifth century BC!

Selected Works from the Collection

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  Mary Beale, Portrait of Charles Beale, around 1660

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  J. M. W. Turner, Boston in Lincolnshire, around 1833

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  Camille Pissarro, Apple Trees in Bloom, 1870

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  Gustave Courbet, Around Ornans, 1874

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  Gustave Caillebotte, Sailboats at Anchor on the Seine, Argenteuil, 1883

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  Vincent van Gogh, Still Life with Ginger Jar and Onions, 1885

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  Claude Monet, Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect, 1903

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  Tom Thomson, Algonquin Park, 1916

Working Together: Collaborative Projects

The McMaster Museum of Art often works with different departments at McMaster University. They create cool projects and exhibitions using the university's research and experts.

Here are some examples of their teamwork:

See Also

• List of art museums
• List of museums in Ontario