Minneapolis Institute of Art  

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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) is an encyclopedic fine art museum located in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota on a campus that covers nearly 8 acres (32,000 m²) which was formerly Morrison Park. It does not charge an entrance fee (although it does charge for some special exhibitions), and allows photography of its permanent collection for personal use only. The museum receives support from the park board museum fund, levied by the Hennepin County commissioners.

History

Growing out of a perceived lack of fine arts in the Minneapolis area, the first meeting of what became the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts took place in 1883. This group, made up of business and professional leaders of the time, organized art exhibits throughout the decade. In 1889, the Society, now known as the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, moved into its first permanent space inside the newly built Minneapolis Public Library.

A new museum building, designed by the firm of McKim, Mead and White, opened its doors in 1915. Built on land donated by the Morrison family formerly occupied by their Villa Rosa mansion, the museum came to be recognized as one of the finest examples of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture in Minnesota. Art historian Bevis Hillier organized an exhibition called Art Deco at the MIA that took place from July 8 to September 5 1971, which caused a great resurgence of interest in this style of art. The building was originally meant to be the first of several sections but only this front piece was ultimately built; several additions have subsequently been built according to other plans, including a 1974 addition by Kenzo Tange. An expansion designed by Michael Graves was completed in June of 2006.

The building is located within the Washburn-Fair Oaks Mansion District, a neighborhood of mansions built by wealthy Minneapolis business leaders between 1880 and 1920. The district is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Minneapolis Institute of Art" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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