University of Michigan Museum of Art

The University of Michigan Museum of Art ( UMMA ) is an American art museum in Ann Arbor, which belongs to the University of Michigan. The museum was founded in 1946 in order to show the growing art collection of the University can.

History of the building

The building of the museum was built as "Alumni Memorial Hall " to commemorate the fallen in the American Civil War alumni (alumni ) of the university. A first attempt to had been done in 1864, but stopped after a few years. 1903, a group of alumni thought back to 1904 said the university administration a piece of land on the southwest corner of the campus at the corner of South University Avenue / State Street to. Also the maintenance of the building would take over the university after its establishment. The architects Donaldson & Meier (Detroit ) provided the design of the building, which was built from 1908 to 1910 for just under $ 200,000. A quarter of the construction costs contributed the University, the majority came from the Alumni Association and individual donors.

The "Alumni Memorial Hall " was built in the Beaux- Arts style ( an American variant of neo-classicism ). The main entrance to the west is formed by a powerful portal that is supported by pillars and two double columns without fluting. The building is 35 m wide and 46 m deep, has two floors and has a basement; the usable area is approximately 3,800 m². The building is brick, the facade is completely covered with stone slabs. Between 2006 and 2009, the "Alumni Memorial Hall " was thoroughly restored and the building by architect Brad Cloepfil a (Portland, OR) added wing designed with a floor area of 4,900 m², which doubles the usable area of the museum. The total cost of the project was 41.9 million USD.

Founding of the museum and art collection

The "Alumni Memorial Hall " was designed from the outset so that they could also accommodate exhibitions. Also suffered from the university library, which until then had houses the art collection of the University, a lack of space. So took the "Alumni Memorial Hall " on the opening of parts of the art collection. 1946 then the entire building was taken over, and the University of Michigan Museum of Art officially established. Even today in the House of bronze plaques with the names of fallen alumni from the Civil War (1861-1865), the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the Spanish-American War ( 1898).

Since 1946, the collection will be shown in the museum part, besides changing exhibitions. The museum's collection consists of art from many regions and eras. For European art include older works such as that of de Champaigne and Teniers, but also works from the 18th and 19th centuries as that of Natoire ( the oil painting Alliance de la Poésie et de la Musique ), Bouguereau ( the oil painting La Charité), Delacroix (21 plants) and Monet ( the oil painting La Débâcle or Les Glaçons ). American art from the 18th and 19th century is well represented, with works by Peale ( Martha Dandridge Custis oil painting Washington) and Whistler ( about 200 drawings and prints). The 20th century is represented in the collection including through photographic works by Ansel Adams and Stieglitz.