Montclair Art Museum facts for kids
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| Established | Chartered 1909; opened 1914 |
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| Location | Montclair, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collections | Native American, American, Contemporary |
| Public transit access | NJ Transit (bus and rail), Walnut Street Station; DeCamp Bus Lines |
The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) is a cool place to visit in Montclair, New Jersey. It's in Essex County, New Jersey. This museum has a huge collection of over 12,000 art pieces. You can see amazing American art and Native North American art here.
MAM offers fun programs, art classes, and special shows. Their goal is to inspire people, make them think, and bring the community together. The museum first opened its doors in 1914. It was the first public art museum in New Jersey. The building itself is very important. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 14, 1986. This means it's recognized for its special art and building design.
Contents
What Art Can You See?
The Montclair Art Museum is one of the few museums in the United States that focuses on American art and Native American art. It has more than 12,000 artworks!
American Art Collection
The American art collection includes paintings, prints, drawings, photos, and sculptures. These pieces date from the 1700s all the way to today.
Native American Art Collection
The museum also has a large collection of historical and modern art from Native North America. You can see beautiful textiles, pottery, beadwork, wood carvings, and jewelry. This collection is very important. It includes many items collected by Grace Nicholson, a dealer from Pasadena.
George Inness Gallery
MAM has a special gallery just for the work of George Inness. He was a 19th-century American painter. He lived in Montclair from 1885 to 1894. Many people call him the "father of American landscape painting." The museum has 21 of his paintings, two watercolors, and an etching. Some of his most famous landscapes were inspired by the Montclair area. The gallery also shows art by William Couper, a sculptor who lived in Montclair.
Featured Artists
The museum's collection includes works by many famous artists. Some of these are Tony Abeyta, Josef Albers, Romare Bearden, Thomas Hart Benton, Alexander Calder, Thomas Cole, Willem de Kooning, Edward Hopper, George Inness, Roy Lichtenstein, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Singer Sargent, Andy Warhol, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
Museum History
Montclair became a busy suburban town after the railroad arrived in the 1830s. Many artists and art lovers moved there. George Inness made Montclair his home from 1885 until he passed away in 1894. The New York Times even called Montclair "the home of more prominent artists and wealthy art connoisseurs... than any other place in New-Jersey." This group of artists helped inspire the idea for the Montclair Art Museum.
How the Museum Started
In 1909, a man named William T. Evans offered to donate 26 paintings to Montclair. He wanted the town to build a fireproof gallery for them. But the town voted against the idea in 1910.
Because of this, a group called the Municipal Art Commission decided to create an art gallery without government help. It was hard to raise money at first. Then, Florence Rand Lang, a Montclair resident, offered to pay most of the costs. Her gift of $50,000 helped buy the land. This changed the project from just a gallery into a full museum. She gave over $250,000 to the museum over 30 years. She also left more money in her will.
Building the Museum
The museum needed a special building for its art. Michel Le Brun, a museum trustee, hired Albert R. Ross to design it. Ross had designed several Carnegie libraries. The building was designed in a neoclassical style.
The Montclair Art Museum opened on January 15, 1914. It was the first public art museum in New Jersey. At its opening, it had two main collections. William T. Evans donated 54 American paintings and 2 sculptures. Florence Rand Lang donated a collection of Native American art. This collection included baskets, clothing, jewelry, and household items. A bronze sculpture called The Sun Vow by Hermon Atkins MacNeil was placed outside the entrance. It is still there today.
Growing the Collections and Building
The museum has continued to grow with new art and donations. In 1922, the museum even let Montclair residents vote on which artwork to buy next!
The museum building has also expanded over time. More gifts from Florence Rand Lang helped add a front porch and mezzanine in 1924. A new East Wing was added in 1931 to hold the Rand Collection. In the 1950s, the North Gallery was changed. The most recent big renovation happened in 2000-2001. This added a new wing and doubled the museum's size.
In 2009, the museum moved most of its library to Montclair State University. This made the books available to more people.
Special Exhibitions
MAM often creates exhibitions that connect its two main collections. For example, in 2001-2002, an exhibit looked at how artist Albert Bierstadt showed meetings between European settlers and Native Americans. It used the museum's Native American art to start conversations with Bierstadt's large paintings. In 2005, "Roy Lichtenstein: American Indian Encounters" explored how a 20th-century artist used Native American art ideas.
The museum also shows art from its local region. It works with other groups to feature art by local artists. For example, in 2012, MAM showed art that explored technology in an exhibit called "New Media: New Forms." In 2014, "Robert Smithson's New Jersey" explored how the artist's early work in New Jersey influenced his later land art projects.
In 2009, MAM worked with the Baltimore Museum of Art to create a big exhibition called "Cézanne and American Modernism." It had 131 art pieces, including 18 by Cézanne. This was the largest exhibition in the museum's history at that time.
As the museum approached its 100th birthday in 2014, it worked to raise more money. It also showed a new sculpture exhibit. To celebrate its 100th year, a new light art piece by Spencer Finch called Yellow was lit up. It made the museum's windows glow softly.
MAM Yard School of Art
The museum has many educational programs for everyone. They have classes for toddlers, kids, teens, adults, and even professional artists. The MAM Yard School of Art is a regional art school. It offers a wide range of art classes.
In the summer of 2014, MAM started a new program called the Art Truck. It's an ice cream truck that was changed into a mobile art studio! The Art Truck brings art teachers and supplies to different places. It holds open art classes at pools, senior centers, festivals, and farmers markets in New Jersey.
Howard Van Vleck Arboretum
The Howard Van Vleck Arboretum is a beautiful garden located on the museum grounds. It's about 3.5 acres in size. The arboretum is open every day, and it's free to visit. It started in 1940 as part of the museum's landscaping. It was named after horticulturist Howard Van Vleck. The garden was redesigned around 2001 when the museum expanded.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, New Jersey
- Van Vleck House and Gardens
