The Icon Museum and Study Center facts for kids
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The Icon Museum and Study Center, Clinton, Massachusetts
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| Established | October 2006 |
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| Type | museum |
The Icon Museum and Study Center is a special art museum in Clinton, Massachusetts, United States. It used to be called the Museum of Russian Icons. This museum has over 1,000 Russian icons and other related items. This makes it one of the biggest collections of Russian icons outside of Russia. It is the largest in North America.
Icons are religious artworks, often paintings, that are very important in Eastern Christian traditions. The icons here are from the 15th century all the way to today. They show many different Russian icon styles and symbols. The museum's collection has also grown to include Greek and Ethiopian icons.
Contents
How the Museum Started
The museum first opened in October 2006. It began with the private collection of a man named Gordon B. Lankton. He was an engineer and a big traveler. When he was in the Army, he was stationed in Germany. Later, in 1956 and 1957, he took an amazing motorcycle trip around the world! He visited many countries, including Turkey, India, and Japan. He wanted to visit Russia, but he couldn't during the Cold War.
In 1989, Mr. Lankton finally got to visit Russia. He went there to open a factory. During his visit, he learned about icons. He started his collection with a small icon he found at a flea market in Moscow.
Over the next 30 years, Mr. Lankton collected hundreds of icons. He showed them in his home and at his company. People really liked seeing them. So, he decided to open his own museum. He bought a building in 2006, and the museum opened on October 15, 2006. Since then, the museum has grown. In 2008, they added a research library and a new gallery. In 2010, Mr. Lankton bought the building next door. He connected the two buildings to make the museum even bigger. This added more gallery space, a tea room, and an auditorium.
The Museum Building
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The two buildings that form the museum today were once part of the Bigelow Carpet Mill. The second building was even a court house and police station at one time! Both buildings were completely updated inside. Some old details were kept, like the jail cells from when it was a court house. The museum now has over 16,000 square feet of gallery space. That's a lot of room to see art!
What You Can See
The museum has over 1,000 Russian icons and other related items. The icons are from the year 1450 up to today. They are grouped by themes, not just by when they were made. A very special part of the collection is the "Royal Doors." These doors once led to the main altar of an Orthodox Church in Russia. They are from the 17th century and are considered the "finest pair in the United States."
Special Exhibitions
The museum often creates its own exhibitions using its collection. It also hosts special shows from other museums. Sometimes, they have shown icons from famous museums in Russia. However, because of rules about art loans, the museum now mostly shows exhibitions from within the United States.
The Study Center
The Study Center is the research part of the museum. It helps people learn more about icons and Eastern Christian art. It supports research into how icons are made, their history, and their spiritual meaning. The Study Center also publishes an online magazine called the Journal of Icon Studies. This magazine is the only one that focuses only on Russian icons and related studies.
A New Name for the Museum
In October 2023, the Museum of Russian Icons changed its name. It is now called The Icon Museum and Study Center. This new name shows that the museum still honors its past. But it also shows that the collection has grown to include Orthodox Christian art from all over the world. It points to the museum's future plans.
The museum's new goal is to "illuminate the art of the sacred icon for a global audience." It wants to be a leading place for talking about icons as a diverse and living tradition. It hopes to inspire learning and understanding through new exhibitions, programs, and research.
