Rose Art Museum facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 1961 |
|---|---|
| Location | Waltham, Massachusetts |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collection size | 9,000 |
| Visitors | 13,000 |
| Architect | Harrison & Abramovitz (1961, 1974) |
| Owner | Brandeis University |
| Public transit access | MBTA Brandeis/Roberts |
The Rose Art Museum is a cool place to see art! It opened in 1961 and is part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. The museum is named after Edward and Bertha Rose, who were very generous supporters.
The Rose Art Museum has a huge collection of modern and contemporary art. There are about 9,000 art pieces here! It's one of the biggest collections of its kind in New England. The museum is known for showing new and exciting art. It has always been a leader in showing modern art.
Contents
Building the Museum
The Rose Art Museum building was designed by a company called Harrison & Abramovitz. It has a simple, geometric shape. When it first opened in 1961, it had about 12,000 square feet of space for art. This was a good size, but the museum quickly grew.
The building needed more space for all the art. So, in 1974, the museum added an expansion. Now, the Rose Art Museum has about 13,000 square feet of space. It has three main galleries. The museum usually puts on 9 to 12 art shows each year. Most of these shows are put together by the museum's own team.
Outdoor Art: Light of Reason
Outside the museum, you can see a special sculpture called Light of Reason. The artist Chris Burden created it. This artwork was put in place in 2014. It has three rows of 24 old-fashioned lamp posts. These lamp posts point away from the museum's entrance.
Light of Reason acts like a special entrance to the museum. It is also a space where outdoor events can happen. This sculpture has become a famous landmark on the university campus.
Museum's Story
How It Started
Even before Brandeis University had its first graduating class in 1951, it already had a lot of art. The university owned more than 300 paintings. These included works by famous artists like Stuart Davis and Fernand Léger.
Sam Hunter became the first director of the Rose Art Museum. He came from the Museum of Modern Art. With money from collectors Leon and Harriet Mnuchin, he started building the museum's collection. He bought important pieces by artists like Johns, Rauschenberg, and Warhol.
Since then, the museum has focused on showing art by leading modern artists. Many of these artists had their first museum shows at the Rose. These include Frank Stella, Kiki Smith, and Nam June Paik. The Rose Art Museum has a top collection of modern and contemporary art in New England.
Important newspapers like The New York Times noticed the museum's shows. They praised many of the exhibitions. In 1970, the museum showed Vision & Television. This was the first video art exhibition in the United States.
A Time of Change (1991)
In 1991, Brandeis University announced a plan. They wanted to sell fourteen pieces of art from the Rose collection. These included works by famous artists like Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec. This idea caused a lot of discussion.
Many people in the art world disagreed with the plan. They felt that selling art from a museum's collection should only be done to buy more art. On November 6, 1991, eleven art pieces were sold. The money from the sale was used to help the museum. It helped pay for new art, educational programs, and keeping the art safe.
Keeping the Museum Open (2009-2011)
In 2009, there were plans to close the Rose Art Museum. This was because of a big financial crisis. The university said it was a tough choice. They wanted to focus on teaching and students.
Many people who loved the museum were upset. The museum's director and board disagreed with the plan. Many artists and donors also spoke out. The Massachusetts Attorney General's office also looked into the decision.
Members of the Rose family, who the museum was named after, also spoke against closing it. They said it was like "plundering" the collection. In July 2009, some museum supporters filed a lawsuit. They wanted to stop the closing and the sale of art. They believed it went against the wishes of those who donated art.
The museum's director, Michael Rush, helped organize people against the closure. He later moved on to direct another museum. The situation was complicated for a while. The museum stayed open but didn't start many new programs.
Finally, in June 2011, a solution was found. The lawsuit was settled. The Rose Art Museum stayed open! No art was sold to help the university's general operations. This was a big win for the museum.
Reopening and Anniversaries
The Rose Art Museum closed briefly for some big updates. It reopened on October 25, 2011. This was a special time because it was the museum's 50th anniversary! There were celebrations and speeches. Artist James Rosenquist even gave a speech.
The museum had to close again in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It first reopened to Brandeis University students and staff in September 2020. Then, on June 25, 2021, it opened to everyone again. It was one of the first university art galleries in the Boston area to welcome the public back.
In December 2021, Gannit Ankori became the new Director and Chief Curator of the museum. To celebrate the museum's 60th anniversary, the Rose created a special show called re:collections. This show displayed art from the museum's collection. It put less-known artists next to famous ones. This helped to bring new voices to art history.
Art Collections
The Rose Art Museum has over 9,000 art pieces. You can see works by many amazing artists here. Some of these include Mark Bradford, Judy Chicago, Cindy Sherman, and Helen Frankenthaler. Other famous artists in the collection are Yayoi Kusama, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol.
Online Art Collection
In 2014, the Rose Art Museum started an online archive. This is a digital collection of its modern and contemporary art. It was made possible with help from the Jasmine Charity Trust. The online collection has a growing list of artists and art pieces. You can also see information about past and current exhibitions.
The Undisciplined Collector
In 2015, artist Mark Dion created a special permanent artwork. It's called The Undisciplined Collector. It's in a small room on the ground floor of the museum. The room looks like a 1961-style "den" or study.
This room is like a time capsule. It's filled with real objects from 1961. That year was when both the artist and the museum were born. You can see old record albums, magazines, and small sculptures. There are also trophies and souvenirs from that time.
Visitors can walk into the room and look closely at everything. You can even sit on the retro-style sofa and read. A small booklet tells the story of the Rose Art Museum. It also explains where some of the objects came from.
Cool Exhibitions
The Rose Art Museum has hosted many important art shows. Here are a few notable ones:
- A Century of Modern European Painting: This was the very first exhibition when the museum opened in 1961.
- Vision & Television: This was the first video art exhibition in the United States. It happened in 1970.
- Vasily Kandinsky: A show about this famous artist in 1974.
- More Than Minimal: Feminism and Abstraction in the '70s: This show explored art by women in 1996.
- Pretty Raw: After and Around Helen Frankenthaler: A special exhibition in 2015.
Museum Leaders
Here are the people who have been in charge of the Rose Art Museum:
- Sam Hunter (1961 - 1965)
- William Seitz (1965 - 1971)
- Russell Connor (1971)
- Michael Wentworth (1971 - 1974)
- Carl Belz (1974 - 1998)
- Joshep D. Ketner (1998 - 2006)
- Michael Rush (2006 - 2009)
- Chistopher Bedford (2012 - 2017)
- Luis Croquer (2017 - 2020)
- Gannit Ankori (2020 - present)
See also
- Deaccessioning (museum)
- Effects of the Great Recession on museums
