Meadows Museum of Art facts for kids
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Location | Shreveport, Louisiana, United States |
| Type | Art museum |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
| Key holdings | Albrecht Dürer's Triumphal Arch |
| Collections | French Indochina art, Inuit art |
| Collection size | Roughly 1,600+ |
| Founder | Algur H. Meadows |
The Meadows Museum of Art is a special place at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport. It's like a treasure chest for amazing visual art! The museum collects, cares for, and shares beautiful artworks. It also helps students learn about art history and how to run a museum. Many students even work there as interns and guides. This museum is the second art museum started by a generous oilman named Algur H. Meadows. The first one is the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's Story
The Meadows Museum of Art opened its doors in 1975. This was a big celebration for Centenary College's 150th birthday! The museum was made possible by a wonderful gift from Algur H. Meadows. He was a former student of Centenary College.
In 1969, Mr. Meadows bought 360 original artworks. These pieces were from the family of a French artist named Jean Despujols. Mr. Meadows paid $250,000 for them. He then gave them to Centenary College to create this new museum. This happened just four years after his first museum opened at SMU.
Mr. Meadows also gave $200,000 to update an old building. This building, from 1926, was designed by architect Edward F. Neild. It used to be classrooms, a library, and an administration building. Now, it became the 4,000 square-foot art museum! Later, Mr. Meadows gave another $150,000 to help keep the museum running.
The Indochina Collection
Unlike the SMU museum, which got Mr. Meadows' Spanish art, Centenary's Meadows Museum started with a unique collection. It was called the Indochina Collection. These were paintings and drawings by French artist Jean Despujols. He created them while working for the French government in Indochina between 1936 and 1938. Indochina is an area that today includes Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
Despujols had been an art professor in France. His Indochina Collection is very special. His realistic style showed the different people, cultures, landscapes, and religious practices of the region. This area would soon face many big changes. Before coming to Shreveport, the collection was shown in Hanoi, Saigon, the Smithsonian Museum, and the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum. This collection is one of the largest of its kind. In 1951, National Geographic Magazine even featured twenty-one of these paintings! Despujols later moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he lived until he passed away.
Willard Cooper, a Centenary graduate, became the museum's first art director. He was also an art professor and led the art department at the college.
What You'll Find at the Meadows Today
Since it opened, the museum's collection has grown a lot. It now has about 1,600 artworks! The museum even added traditional Southeast Asian costumes. These are like the ones shown in Despujols' paintings.
Besides the Indochina Collection, you can see works by famous artists. These include George Grosz, Emilio Amero, Mary Cassatt, and William Hogarth. There are also pieces by Louisiana artists like Clyde Connell, Clementine Hunter, and Don Brown.
The Meadows Museum of Art also owns a rare print. It's called The Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I. This amazing artwork was made by the artist Albrecht Dürer. The museum also has a large collection of Inuit art, including prints and sculptures.
Exhibitions and Learning
The museum doesn't just collect art. It also hosts exciting temporary exhibitions. These shows introduce visitors to many different art forms. They feature talented artists, art historians, and curators. Recent exhibitions have included Sean Starwars, Renegade Printmaker of the South and Poet of the Ordinary: Photographs by Keith Carter.
The museum also offers educational programs. These programs help everyone learn more about art. To support its goal of teaching, the museum never charges an entrance fee. It's a great place for the Shreveport community to enjoy art. The museum also helps make learning at Centenary College even richer.
A Recognized Museum
Centenary's Meadows Museum is officially recognized by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). This is the highest national award for museums in the country. Being accredited means a museum is excellent. It shows quality to other museums, governments, and visitors. The Meadows first received this honor in 1980. It has been re-accredited four times since then. This means it has maintained its high standards for 50 years!
