Cleveland Museum of Art

Encyclopedia : C : CL : CLE : Cleveland Museum of Art

Located in Cleveland's University Circle, the Cleveland Museum of Art has a [permanent collection]of more than 40,000 objects in 70 galleries. Established in 1913, the world renowned museum is well known for its collections of Pre-Columbian, medieval European, and Asian art. It is also home to a large art research library, performance spaces, and a restaurant. The museum is often host to concerts, films, and lectures. General Admission is free to the public.

The Museum's main building (designed by Hubbell and Benes) was constructed in 1916, and was expanded in 1958, in 1971 (designed by Marcel Breuer) and in 1983. Construction of a new addition designed by Rafael Viñoly is underway, with a goal of completion in 2010. The Museum is currently CLOSED (from January 2006, planned to partially reopen in July 2006) to facilitate a $258 million renovation and expansion project. The Museum has recently opened a small gallery and teaching space in Shaker Square with classes for children and adults, and in July 2006, the Museum intends to reopen its garden court to resume its popular Friday night summertime jazz series.

Detail, The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Museum's large cast of Rodin's The Thinker has a unique but troubled history. Partially destroyed in an act of vandalism by a protester in 1970, the statue was left unrestored due to the close involvement of the artist in its original casting. The damaged statue is now considered to be interesting commentary on The Thinker which was originally paired with the artist's The Gates of Hell. [link]

In June 2004, the Museum acquired an ancient bronze sculpture of Apollo Sauroktonos, believed to be an original work by Praxiteles of Athens. Because the work has a contested provenance, the Museum continues to study the dating and attribution of the sculpture. [Cleveland Art Apollo][A God of Myth Cloaked in Mystery]

Special exhibitions

• In October 2006 art will again return to the Museum with a special exhibition: [Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí]. This exhibition will feature more than 300 paintings and objects documenting the emergence of modernism in Barcelona from the 1870s to the 1930s. [link] The exhibition's only other stop is the Metropolitan in New York.

• The museum has also organized a worldwide tour of special exhibitions of highlights from its collections. These include exhibitions in [Beijing,] Seoul, Tokyo, [Munich] (at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum); and in the U.S., in Los Angeles at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and in Nashville, TN at the Frist Center. In the Fall of 2006, the Frick Collection will exhibit ten of Cleveland's greatest old master paintings. [link]

• Closer to home, the museum has organized a [small exhibit] of 18th Century English paintings at Oberlin College, and has loaned several contemporary art works to [MOCA Cleveland].

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