Minneapolis Institute of Art facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Minneapolis Institute of Art

Mia viewed from the north
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Established	1883 (1883)
Location	2400 Third Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota
Collection size	90,000+
Visitors	591,069 (2022)
Public transit access	Bus: 11B, 11C, 17, 18

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (often called Mia) is a large art museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is home to over 90,000 pieces of art. These artworks show 5,000 years of history from all over the world.

Mia is one of the biggest art museums in the U.S. Its collection covers about 20,000 years of art. It includes art from many different cultures across six continents. The museum has seven main areas for its collections. These include art from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and modern art.

Mia is also a major art educator in Minnesota. More than half a million people visit the museum each year. Another 100,000 kids learn through its Art Adventure program. The museum offers free general admission. It also has public programs, classes for all ages, and interactive exhibits.

Museum History

An early design idea for the museum building

The Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts started in 1883. Its goal was to bring art to the community. This group, made of local leaders, held art shows for many years. In 1889, the group, now called the Minneapolis Institute of Art, got its first permanent home. It moved into the new Minneapolis Public Library.

The museum received gifts to help build its own space. In 1911, Clinton Morrison donated land for the new building. He gave the land in memory of his father. The gift came with a condition: the museum had to raise $500,000 for construction.

Just a few days later, William Hood Dunwoody pledged $100,000. This helped start the fundraising. A dinner soon after raised $335,500 in only 90 minutes!

The new museum opened in 1915. It was designed by the famous firm of McKim, Mead and White. The building is a great example of the Beaux-Arts style in Minnesota. This style became popular again after an art show at the museum in 1971.

The original plan was for the building to have many sections. But only the front part was built at first. Over the years, new parts were added. These include an addition in 1974 by Kenzo Tange and one in 2006 by Michael Graves. The 2006 addition was named after Target Corporation, which gave over $10 million. Before this addition, only 4% of the museum's nearly 100,000 objects could be shown. Now, about 5% can be seen.

In 2015, the museum changed its name slightly. It became the Minneapolis Institute of Art, dropping the "s" from "Arts." It also started encouraging people to use the nickname Mia.

Kaywin Feldman became the museum's director in 2008. During her time, museum visits doubled. She also focused on online access and programs for social justice. In 2019, she left to become the director of the National Gallery of Art.

In October 2019, Katherine Luber became the new director and president of Mia. In 2024, a curator named Robert Cozzolino left the museum. This led to many artists and community members, including David Lynch, showing their support for Cozzolino and discussing the museum's environment.

Art Collection

Galleries with items from the East Asia Collection

The museum has a huge collection of about 80,000 objects. These artworks cover 5,000 years of world history. The collection includes paintings, photographs, prints, drawings, textiles, and decorative arts.

Mia has special collections of African art and art from Oceania and the Americas. Its Asian art collection is very strong. It is known as "one of the finest and most complete Asian art collections in the country." This collection features Chinese architecture, jades, bronzes, and ceramics.

The institute also owns the Purcell-Cutts House. This house is a great example of Prairie School architecture. It was given to the museum by Anson B. Cutts Jr. You can take tours of the house on the second weekend of each month.

Museum Services

Tables set up for an event in a gallery

The museum has special groups for its members. These "affinity groups" are linked to the museum's seven art areas. They hold talks, workshops, and trips for members. This helps people learn more about art and supports the museum in getting new artworks.

Mia often hosts special exhibitions. These shows bring in art collections from other museums. Local businesses often help pay for these shows. Sometimes, the artists themselves give tours of their work.

The museum is also home to the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program. This program is run by artists. It focuses on showing works by artists who live in Minnesota.

The Museum Library has over 60,000 books about art and art history. Anyone can visit the library to learn more.

Outdoor Art Exhibits

The museum has several artworks outside its building. Two large Chinese lions guard the 24th Street entrance. These lions were a gift in 1998. They were carved in China in an old 18th-century style.

Near the 24th Street entrance is a bronze statue called The Fighter of the Spirit. It was made by Ernst Barlach. The statue shows a winged man holding a sword. He stands on the back of a snarling beast. This statue was once considered "degenerate art" by the Nazis. It was hidden to save it from being destroyed. Mia bought a copy of the statue in 1959.

The Chinese Garden can be seen from the museum's café. It has special Taihu stones. These stones are said to look like mountains where Buddhist and Taoist immortals live. Ruth and Bruce Dayton gave this garden to the museum.

Target Park is behind the museum. It has several modern statues. These include works by Pietro Consagra, Richard Erdman, and Jean Willy Mestach. There is also a granite and steel structure called Labyrinth. You can stand inside it and look up to see the labyrinth pattern.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the museum bought a sculpture by Igor Mitoraj. The piece is called Eros Bendato Screpolato. It is one of a series of bronze "bandaged heads" by Mitoraj. You can find similar sculptures in other cities around the world.

Museum Management

Finances

Woodlands Shirt, c. 1720-1750

The William Hood Dunwoody Fund helps the museum buy new art. This fund started with one million dollars when Dunwoody died in 1914. It has been used to buy thousands of artworks.

Bruce Dayton, a long-time trustee, made sure that money raised for the Target wing was split. Half went to the building, and half went to a fund for buying art. This fund has helped Mia buy important pieces. These include a rare 18th-century Native American shirt and a large map of Venice from 1500.

Almost half of the museum's money comes from a special tax fund. This "park-museum fund" started in 1911. It provides public support because the museum offers free admission.

In 2016, the museum received a $6 million gift. This money was for the Gale Asian Art Initiative. It helps highlight the museum's large collection of Asian art. The gift was from Alfred P. Gale, an heir to the Pillsbury fortune.

Artworks Returned

In 2008, the museum returned a painting called “Smoke Over Rooftops” by Fernand Léger. This painting had been taken from its Jewish owner, Alphonse Kann, during World War II.

In 2024, the Italian Ministry of Culture asked the museum about a Roman statue. The statue is a copy of an ancient Greek sculpture called The Doryphoros of Polykleitos. Italy believes the statue was taken from Stabiae and later bought by the museum in 1986. Because of this discussion, Italy has stopped lending artworks to Mia for now.

Selected Artworks & Paintings

See also

In Spanish: Instituto de Artes de Mineápolis para niños

• List of largest art museums
• List of most-visited museums in the United States