Indianapolis Museum of Art

The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is a big art museum located at Newfields, a beautiful 152-acre campus. This campus also includes special places like Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, and beautiful gardens. The museum is found at the corner of North Michigan Road and West 38th Street, just a short drive from downtown Indianapolis. Visitors can enjoy many changing exhibitions, classes, tours, and events throughout the year.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. It has a huge collection of over 54,000 pieces of art from many parts of the world, including Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Some of the most famous works are Neo-Impressionist paintings, Japanese paintings from the Edo period, Chinese ceramics, and art by famous artists like Paul Gauguin and J. M. W. Turner. The museum also has a lot of modern design and fashion pieces.

The museum started in 1883 as the Art Association of Indianapolis and opened its first permanent building in 1906. It moved to its current location in 1970. Over the years, many important people have helped support the museum, including May Wright Sewall, Booth Tarkington, and Eli Lilly. The museum is known for being friendly and open, offering free admission for many years and winning awards for its work in education and saving energy.

History

Early days (1883–1969)

The Indianapolis Museum of Art began as the Art Association of Indianapolis, a group started by suffragist May Wright Sewall in 1883. The group wanted to teach people about art and offer art classes. Their first show had many paintings and drawings from different artists. Later, a kind man named John Herron left money to build a gallery and school, which opened in 1902. Over time, the museum grew with help from many supporters.

Move to current location (1970–2011)

In the 1960s, leaders thought it would be good to move the museum to a bigger, nicer place. They chose a big estate called Oldfields and started building new buildings there. Over the years, they added more buildings and changed the museum to make it welcoming for visitors. They also added special outdoor spaces for art and nature.

Time under Charles L. Venable (2012–2021)

Charles L. Venable became the leader of the museum in 2012. He made changes to save money and attract more visitors, which some people liked and others did not. The museum added fun outdoor activities and changed its name to "Newfields" to include its gardens and other places. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the museum closed for a time but later reopened.

Job posting controversy and continued turmoil (2021-present)

In 2021, there was a lot of discussion about a job opening for a new leader. Some people felt the museum needed to change to welcome more visitors from different backgrounds. This led to some disagreements and changes in leadership. In 2022, Colette Pierce Burnette became the first Black woman to lead the museum, but she left after a short time. In 2023, Belinda Tate became the new director, and the museum continued to change and grow.

Newfields components

Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA)

The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is the main building at Newfields. It is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum holds many artworks and also has a ticket office, a gift shop, and a café. You can also find event spaces like lecture halls and an outdoor amphitheater.

The Lume

The fourth floor of the IMA is called The Lume. This special space shows digital art, like images inspired by famous artists. When it opened in 2021, it featured works inspired by Vincent van Gogh. Later, it showed art inspired by Claude Monet and other Impressionists.

Pulliam Family Great Hall

The Pulliam Family Great Hall is a big room inside the museum with large artworks. It is used for events and performances. One famous piece here is a tall sculpture called LOVE by artist Robert Indiana.

Clowes Pavilion

The Clowes Pavilion opened in 1972 and shows art collected by the Clowes family. It includes famous paintings and was closed for renovations until March 2022. After renovations, it has new features like a large LED screen.

The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park

The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park opened in 2010. It is a big outdoor space with hills, lakes, and trails. There are also special artworks placed throughout the park. The park is surrounded by a river and a canal.

Lilly House

Lilly House, also called Oldfields, is a historic home on the Newfields campus. It was built between 1910 and 1913 and was later bought by a famous Indianapolis family. The home and gardens have been carefully restored to show how they looked in the 1930s.

The Garden at Newfields

The Garden at Newfields includes many outdoor spaces right next to the museum. There are gardens, a fountain, and special sculptures. Some gardens are old and carefully kept, while others are newer and designed for everyone to enjoy.

Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse, the Playhouse, and the Garden Terrace

The Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse grows plants and also used to host a beer garden. In 2022, the beer garden moved to a new place called the Garden Terrace, which is closer to the main museum.

Sites off the main campus

The Miller House and Garden

The Miller House is a famous modern home designed by Eero Saarinen. It is located in Columbus, Indiana, and was donated to the IMA in 2009. The house and gardens show works by many important artists and designers.

Westerley House and gardens

Westerley House is a large home near the museum. It was the home of the Clowes family and was donated to the museum. After renovations, it was used for events and as a home for the museum director.

Collections

Main articles: List of artworks at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and List of outdoor artworks at Newfields

Newfields has a large collection of over 54,000 artworks from many cultures and time periods, spanning more than 5,000 years. The collection includes European and American paintings and sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, Asian art, art from Africa, the South Pacific, and the Americas, ancient Mediterranean art, design arts, textile and fashion arts, and contemporary art.

The museum has important collections of Neo-Impressionist paintings and prints, and works by artists such as J.M.W. Turner. It also holds a large group of Asian art, including Japanese paintings and scrolls, as well as African art and artifacts. The textile and fashion collection includes designer costumes and fabrics from many traditions. Contemporary art works are also a focus, with special installations shown in different parts of the museum.

Exhibitions

In 1909, the Art Association in Indianapolis held a big show called the Augustus Saint-Gaudens Memorial Exhibition. It was so popular that 56,000 people came to see it, which was more than they hoped for.

Many famous collections have been shown at the museum over the years. In 1937, they displayed Dutch paintings from the 1600s, including works by Rembrandt. In 1992, they showed a famous collection of paintings from the Museum of Modern Art, which drew thousands of visitors. In 2008, the museum displayed a huge collection of Roman art from the Louvre in Paris, including mosaics, statues, and paintings. This was the biggest group of Roman art ever loaned from the Louvre to the United States.

The museum has also featured modern and contemporary artists. In 2010, they showed works by Andy Warhol, letting visitors see how he went from a regular artist to a famous one. In 2013, the museum held the first big show of the work of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in the United States.

In 2021, the museum began organizing its galleries into new displays that group artworks by themes instead of time periods. The first of these was called Embodied: Human Figures in Art.

Traveling exhibitions

In 2009, the museum showed European Design since 1985: Shaping the New Century, featuring designs by famous designers like Philippe Starck and Marc Newson. The exhibition explored what makes something art and how to tell if a piece is special enough for a museum.

In 2011, the museum displayed Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial, a large collection of artworks by Dial. The exhibition showed how Dial’s work deals with important social and political topics.

Venice Biennale

In 2010, the museum was chosen to organize the United States’ part of the Venice Biennale, a very important art show. They chose two artists from Puerto Rico, Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, to represent the United States. In 2011, they created six new pieces for the show, including works that involved Olympic athletes.

Festivals and events

Winterlights is a yearly festival that started in 2017. It features lots of bright lights all around the museum grounds and a special light show with music. Each year, there are even more lights than the year before. People pay to join, but members get a lower price.

In October 2019, the museum began a fun autumn festival called Harvest. It includes special art, like a glowing room made by artist Yayoi Kusama, painting pumpkins, and places to eat and drink. Later, the festival grew to include Harvest Days during regular museum hours and Harvest Nights in the evenings. Harvest Nights has a spooky Halloween path with glowing pumpkins that leads to a special story shown on an old house.

Since 1968, the museum has hosted the Penrod Art Fair, which is now known as "Indiana's Nicest Day." It’s one of the biggest art fairs in the United States, with hundreds of artists showing their work. The fair didn’t happen in 2020 because of health concerns, but it came back the next year.

Conservation

The Indianapolis Museum of Art started its conservation department in 1970. It quickly became known for helping protect important artworks. The department has worked on many special projects, like saving portraits of past governors of Indiana and restoring murals and other artworks for schools and hospitals in the area.

Today, the department has experts who care for different kinds of art, such as paintings, fabrics, and paper works. In 2008, the museum received a large grant to build a modern lab for studying art materials. This helps the museum learn more about the artworks it owns and train others in how to care for art properly.

Administration

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is run as a 501(c)(3) group called Newfields. It has a leader named President and CEO Le Monte Booker, along with other leaders who help manage the museum. The museum has money set aside for different needs like building upkeep and paying staff. After a big money problem in 2008, the museum’s savings went down, but by 2021, they had grown again.

The museum has many helper groups that have supported it for years. These groups help buy art, plan events, and raise money. For example, one group started in 1919 and helped buy art for the museum. Another group began in 1958 and held special events to collect funds. There are also groups that care for the museum’s gardens and support modern art.

The museum has also earned awards for taking care of the environment. It was one of the first art museums to get recognized for saving energy. It also won a special award for helping the community through school programs and making the museum open to everyone.

Outreach

The Indianapolis Museum of Art has offered free days for visitors since 1915, which helped more people enjoy the museum. Later, the museum tried charging for entry but returned to free admission for general visits in 2007, which brought even more visitors. In 2015, the museum began charging again, with prices updating in 2022.

The museum offers many learning programs for school children and online visitors. One program called Viewfinders helps 9,000 students each year learn to think critically and communicate well through art. The museum also has a special space called Davis Lab where visitors can explore art using new technology. There are also classes, lectures, films, and tours of the museum’s collections and gardens.

The museum works hard to make sure everyone can visit, including people who need special help. They offer captioning on videos, large-print guides, seating, sign language, and wheelchair-friendly paths. They partner with schools for deaf and blind students and have a garden designed for all visitors to enjoy with many senses.

Initiatives

In February 2010, the museum started a technology group called Newfields Lab. This group helps museums use technology to solve problems. They created tools like a mobile tour for visitors and a way for people to share ideas about art online.

In 2009, the museum also began ArtBabble, a website with videos about art from many museums around the world. Though this website is no longer running, it was once a popular place to learn more about art.

The museum also offers advice on public art. In 2011, they began helping manage the art collection at the Indianapolis International Airport.