Columbus Museum of Art
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Columbus Museum of Art, which opened on January 22, 1931, is an historic art museum located at 480 East Broad Street in downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was designed by prolific Columbus architects Richards, McCarty and Bulford. Because of its architectural importance, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places On March 19, 1992, under its original name, the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts.
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It had historically focused on European and American art up through the early modern period, but in recent years has branched into more contemporary art exhibits and a permanent photography collection. Some critics believe the Museum has reached out of its element in these ventures , particularly given the proximity of the contemporary art-focused Wexner Center for the Arts.
Highlights of its permanent collection include early Cubist paintings by Picasso and Juan Gris, and works by Degas, Matisse, Edward Hopper, and Norman Rockwell. The Museum also has a substantial collection of paintings by Columbus native, George Bellows. Its photography collection includes works by Berenice Abbott and Eugene Atget.
Most of the Museum's galleries are traditionally decorated, with walls of various colors rather than the stark white cubes of contemporary galleries. Those rooms housing pre-19th century European paintings have been hung in the old "salon style", with the walls covered by paintings hung directly above and next to one another, rather than spaced apart in single rows.
Temporary and traveling shows are also regularly featured. The most popular of these in recent years were Renoir's Women featuring more than 30 works by the Impressionist master and an exhibit of Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures, in which the massive, chaotic forms were installed in the midst of the traditional painting galleries.
The Museum also features an outdoor sculpture gallery, a cafe, and "Eye Spy: Adventures in Art", an interactive exhibit tailored towards educating children.
