Allen Memorial Art Museum
Encyclopedia
The Allen Memorial Art Museum (abbreviated 'AMAM') is located in Oberlin, Ohio
and is run by Oberlin College
. Founded in 1917, its collection is one of the finest of any college or university museum in the United States, consistently ranking among those of Harvard
and Yale
. The Museum complex is noteworthy for its architecture, especially the Cass Gilbert
main block and the Venturi and Scott Brown addition.
In December 2009, the AMAM closed for renovations. It reopened in the fall of 2011.
and named after its founder, Dr. Dudley Peter Allen (B.A., 1875), a distinguished graduate and trustee of Oberlin College. It was built at a price of nearly $200,000, double its originally planned budget. The building was completed in 1918, and opened the day before commencement
, where Gilbert received an honorary degree.
and Denise Scott Brown
to design another addition to the AMAM that represents one of the earliest and finest examples of postmodern architecture
in the United States. The addition is recessed on the right side of the Gilbert building, in deference to that structure, but at the same time it features a modern veneer with a polychrome pattern that generates interest and creates a tension between the buildings. This addition on the south also established a dialogue, on the north, with the gas station on site at the time, where the Underground Railroad monument now sits.
The addition houses offices, classrooms, workspaces, and the Clarence Ward Art Library.
prints. High-quality African
, Pre-Columbian
, and Ancient Art
is also represented. The museum also houses the Eva Hesse
archives, which includes the artist’s notebooks, diaries, photographs and letters, and is proud to oversee, along with the Art Department, Frank Lloyd Wright
’s Weltzheimer/Johnson House.
students to rent works of art by notable artists such as Renoir
, Picasso, and Dalí
for five dollars a semester.
The Art Rental program was the brainchild of Ellen Johnson, who worked at Oberlin College as an art librarian and later as a professor of modern art. In addition to her academic roles, Johnson formed close bonds with contemporary artists of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Claes Oldenburg
, Andy Warhol
, and Robert Morris
. She also taught one of the first ExCo (Experimental College). classes, and owned and lived in Oberlin's Frank Lloyd Wright
designed house for many years. Her support for the arts was surpassed only by her love and support for her students and her commitment to enhancing their quality of life. To this end, Ellen Johnson began the Art Rental program
"Early on in my student days, in 1940, I believe, it occurred to me that if students could have works of art in their dormitory rooms, it would not only develop their aesthetic sensibilities, but might encourage ordered thinking and discrimination even in other areas of their lives.
I was given seven hundred dollars to purchase and frame reproductions of art masterpieces. So began one of the earliest, if not the first, college art rental collections in the country. Gradually, over the next decades, reproductions were completely replaced by originals... For many years, at twenty-five cents, and even now at five dollars, a student can hang in his or her room for a whole semester [works by Picasso, Matisse, Goya, Jasper Jones, or Jim Dine.]"
The legacy of the art rental program continues to this day, because of the integrity and respect of Oberlin College students. Commitment to the maintenance of the ideals Ellen Johnson set forth has ensured the success of the art rental program for decades, and guarantees the program will continue in the future.
Usonian House that sits on a lot several blocks from campus. Designed in 1947 and completed in 1949, it is the first Usonian house in Ohio and one of the few in the nation open to the public.
The Weltzheimer family lived in the house until 1963 when the property was sold to developers and "remodeling" efforts scarred the space. However, in 1968, Art History Professor Ellen H. Johnson purchased the home and began the restoration process. In 1992 at her death, the house was given to Oberlin College to serve as a guesthouse for the Art Department and the Allen Memorial Art Museum. The house is now open to the public for tours and programs.
In 2009, the Weltzheimer/Johnson House begun seasonal closings to help better preserve the house, and protect it from extreme wear-and-tear. The house will now be closed through December through February, reopening for public open house tours in March.
wells for a more efficient climate control system. The geothermal well system will optimize energy performance for the museum and significantly reduce carbon emissions. In addition to geothermal, the project includes water efficient landscaping; water use reduction; recycling of construction materials; and use of recycled and regional materials.
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, to the south and west of Cleveland. Oberlin is perhaps best known for being the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students...
and is run by Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
. Founded in 1917, its collection is one of the finest of any college or university museum in the United States, consistently ranking among those of Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. The Museum complex is noteworthy for its architecture, especially the Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert
- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...
main block and the Venturi and Scott Brown addition.
In December 2009, the AMAM closed for renovations. It reopened in the fall of 2011.
About
The AMAM is primarily a teaching museum, and it is a vital cultural resource for the students, faculty, and staff of Oberlin College as well as the surrounding community. Notable strengths include seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish art, nineteenth and early twentieth-century European and contemporary American art, and Asian, European, and American works on paper. The collection is housed in an impressive Italian Renaissance-style building designed by Cass GilbertCass Gilbert
- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...
and named after its founder, Dr. Dudley Peter Allen (B.A., 1875), a distinguished graduate and trustee of Oberlin College. It was built at a price of nearly $200,000, double its originally planned budget. The building was completed in 1918, and opened the day before commencement
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
, where Gilbert received an honorary degree.
Clarence Ward Addition
Clarence Ward, a professor of art history and director of the AMAM from its inception through 1949, designed an addition to the AMAM, built in 1937. Today, this addition houses offices, classrooms, and workspaces.Venturi & Scott Brown Addition
In the 1970s, the College commissioned husband & wife team Robert VenturiRobert Venturi
Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major figures in the architecture of the twentieth century...
and Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown, is an architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia...
to design another addition to the AMAM that represents one of the earliest and finest examples of postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
in the United States. The addition is recessed on the right side of the Gilbert building, in deference to that structure, but at the same time it features a modern veneer with a polychrome pattern that generates interest and creates a tension between the buildings. This addition on the south also established a dialogue, on the north, with the gas station on site at the time, where the Underground Railroad monument now sits.
The addition houses offices, classrooms, workspaces, and the Clarence Ward Art Library.
Collections
The Allen Memorial Art Museum has an outstanding collection of nearly 14,000 objects – including paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, prints, drawings and photographs – that provide a comprehensive overview of the history of art from a variety of cultures. The collection is particularly strong in European and American paintings and sculpture from the 15th century to today, and has important holdings of Asian paintings, scrolls, sculpture and decorative art, including a large group of Ukiyo-eUkiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
prints. High-quality African
African art
African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of people, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African...
, Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian art
Pre-Columbian art is the visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, North, Central, and South Americas until the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and the time period marked by Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas....
, and Ancient Art
Ancient art
Arts of the ancient world refer to the many types of art that were in the cultures of ancient societies, such as those of ancient China, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.-Egypt:...
is also represented. The museum also houses the Eva Hesse
Eva Hesse
Eva Hesse , was a German-born American sculptor, known for her pioneering work in materials such as latex, fiberglass, and plastics. -Early life:Hesse was born into a family of observant Jews in Hamburg, Germany...
archives, which includes the artist’s notebooks, diaries, photographs and letters, and is proud to oversee, along with the Art Department, Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
’s Weltzheimer/Johnson House.
Art Rental
The AMAM is also known for its art rental program which enables Oberlin CollegeOberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
students to rent works of art by notable artists such as Renoir
Renoir
-People with the surname Renoir :* Pierre-Auguste Renoir , French painter* Pierre Renoir , French actor and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir* Jean Renoir , French film director and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir...
, Picasso, and Dalí
DALI
DALI may refer to:* Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries* The "Distance-matrix ALIgnment" algorithm used in the FSSP database on structurally similar proteins* Digital Addressable Lighting Interface* Dartmouth Assessment of Lifestyle Index...
for five dollars a semester.
The Art Rental program was the brainchild of Ellen Johnson, who worked at Oberlin College as an art librarian and later as a professor of modern art. In addition to her academic roles, Johnson formed close bonds with contemporary artists of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring very large replicas of everyday objects...
, Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, and Robert Morris
Robert Morris (artist)
Robert Morris is an American sculptor, conceptual artist and writer. He is regarded as one of the most prominent theorists of Minimalism along with Donald Judd but he has also made important contributions to the development of performance art, land art, the Process Art movement and installation...
. She also taught one of the first ExCo (Experimental College). classes, and owned and lived in Oberlin's Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
designed house for many years. Her support for the arts was surpassed only by her love and support for her students and her commitment to enhancing their quality of life. To this end, Ellen Johnson began the Art Rental program
"Early on in my student days, in 1940, I believe, it occurred to me that if students could have works of art in their dormitory rooms, it would not only develop their aesthetic sensibilities, but might encourage ordered thinking and discrimination even in other areas of their lives.
I was given seven hundred dollars to purchase and frame reproductions of art masterpieces. So began one of the earliest, if not the first, college art rental collections in the country. Gradually, over the next decades, reproductions were completely replaced by originals... For many years, at twenty-five cents, and even now at five dollars, a student can hang in his or her room for a whole semester [works by Picasso, Matisse, Goya, Jasper Jones, or Jim Dine.]"
The legacy of the art rental program continues to this day, because of the integrity and respect of Oberlin College students. Commitment to the maintenance of the ideals Ellen Johnson set forth has ensured the success of the art rental program for decades, and guarantees the program will continue in the future.
Frank Lloyd Wright Weltzheimer/Johnson House
The Weltzheimer/Johnson House at Oberlin College is a Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
Usonian House that sits on a lot several blocks from campus. Designed in 1947 and completed in 1949, it is the first Usonian house in Ohio and one of the few in the nation open to the public.
The Weltzheimer family lived in the house until 1963 when the property was sold to developers and "remodeling" efforts scarred the space. However, in 1968, Art History Professor Ellen H. Johnson purchased the home and began the restoration process. In 1992 at her death, the house was given to Oberlin College to serve as a guesthouse for the Art Department and the Allen Memorial Art Museum. The house is now open to the public for tours and programs.
In 2009, the Weltzheimer/Johnson House begun seasonal closings to help better preserve the house, and protect it from extreme wear-and-tear. The house will now be closed through December through February, reopening for public open house tours in March.
Renovations
The AMAM’s 2010-2011 interior renovation follows the successful exterior renovation that concluded in 2005. The current building renovation and endowment effort will ensure that the museum continues to provide deep educational and aesthetic experiences for Oberlin College faculty and students and the public and to preserve the historic building and improve the way it is cared for and provide access to the art collections. The main goal of the most recent renovation is to replace the AMAM’s 30-year-old mechanical system to meet the museum’s complex climate control requirements. It also includes critical upgrades to gallery lighting, security and fire suppression. The renovations will also include the renovation and expansion of storage spaces for the AMAM’s internationally respected collection. Re-housing the collections in new and renovated storage areas will increase the museum’s capacity to safely store paintings and objects by more than 50%. The renovation will also install eighteen geothermalGeothermal
Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to:* The geothermal gradient and associated heat flows from within the Earth- Renewable technology :...
wells for a more efficient climate control system. The geothermal well system will optimize energy performance for the museum and significantly reduce carbon emissions. In addition to geothermal, the project includes water efficient landscaping; water use reduction; recycling of construction materials; and use of recycled and regional materials.
External links
- Allen Memorial Art Museum blog
- Allen Memorial Art Museum Facebook
- OberWiki Entry for the AMAM
- Allen Memorial Art Museum records, 1916-1967 from the Smithsonian Archives of American ArtArchives of American ArtThe Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 16 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washington, D.C...