Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum located in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first museum built just for showing art west of the Alleghenies and is one of the oldest in the United States. With more than 67,000 artworks, the museum shows pieces from almost 6,000 years of history, making it one of the richest collections in the Midwest.

Early museum leaders chose between three places for the museum: Burnet Woods, Eden Park, or downtown Cincinnati at Washington Park. Charles West, a key supporter of the museum, helped decide on Eden Park, and the beautiful Romanesque-revival building, designed by local architect James W. McLaughlin, opened its doors in 1886. Over the years, the building has been added to and changed quite a bit.

In 2003, a large new part called The Cincinnati Wing was added. This special area shows art made for or by artists from Cincinnati since 1788. It includes fifteen galleries covering 18,000 square feet and features around 400 artworks. Two famous statues called the Odoardo Fantacchiotti angels are among the largest pieces in the museum’s collection. These angels were made for the main altar of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in the late 1840s and were some of the first European sculptures to arrive in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Wing also displays works by artists like Frank Duveneck, pieces from Rookwood Pottery, and furniture by Mitchell & Rammelsberg, as well as a tall clock made by Luman Watson.

Today, the Cincinnati Art Museum belongs to an important group called the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network, which began in 2021 through the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.

History

In the late 1800s, public art museums were still a new idea, especially in places far west like Cincinnati. After a big exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, a group of women in Cincinnati formed the Women's Art Museum Association to bring an art museum to their city for everyone to enjoy. Their efforts grew, and in 1881, the Cincinnati Museum Association was created. At first, the museum was housed temporarily in Music Hall in Over-the-Rhine.

In 1886, the museum building in Eden Park was officially opened. Over the years, many generous people helped grow the museum's collection. New wings and buildings were added, including the Schmidlapp Wing designed by Daniel Burnham in 1907, and several others in the 1930s. Renovations in the 1940s and 1950s changed the museum's layout, and in 1965, the Adams-Emery wing was completed to hold more art and host events. Major renovations in 1993 restored beautiful details inside the museum and added new space for exhibitions. In 2003, the museum opened the Cincinnati Wing, showing the city's own art history, and removed its general admission fee forever. Today, the museum continues to grow and connect with the community.

Collection

The Cincinnati Art Museum has many beautiful paintings from famous artists. Some of these artists are Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Tintoretto, Frans Hals, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso. The museum also shows works by American artist Frank Duveneck.

In 2022, workers found a hidden portrait under a painting by Paul Cézanne when they were checking the artwork.

The museum also has a large collection of decorative arts and design pieces by artists such as Paul de Lamerie, Karen LaMonte, Kitaro Shirayamadani, and Jean-Pierre Latz.

Selections from the permanent collection

Here are some famous artworks you can see at the Cincinnati Art Museum:

• Hans Memling created Saint Christopher between 1433 and 1494.

• Andrea Mantegna painted A Sibyl and a Prophet around 1495 to 1500.

• Lucas Cranach the Elder made Saint Helena with the Cross in 1525.

• Peter Paul Rubens painted Samson and Delilah between 1604 and 1614.

• Frans Hals created Portrait of a Dutch Family from 1633 to 1636.

• Thomas Gainsborough painted Portrait of Ann Ford in 1760.

• Martin Ferdinand Quadal made a Self-portrait in 1788.

• John Constable painted Waterloo Bridge in 1820.

• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot created Ruins of the Château de Pierrefonds between 1825 and 1872.

• Thomas Buchanan Read painted The Harp of Erin in 1867.

• William Adolphe Bouguereau made Girl Eating Porridge in 1874.

• Lawrence Alma-Tadema painted Comparison in 1892.

• William Merritt Chase created The Mirror around 1900.

• Amedeo Modigliani painted Portrait of Max Jacob from 1911 to 1921.

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  Karen LaMonte made Seated Dress Impression with Drapery in 2005.

• Charles Grafly painted Portrait of Frank Duveneck in 1915.

Exhibitions

The Cincinnati Art Museum holds many special shows from around the world each year. These shows come with fun activities and events for the public to enjoy. Some past shows include Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America, Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal..., and No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man.

Over time, the museum changed how it handles these special shows. It decided to focus more on its own collection, like circus posters and modern Dutch design, instead of spending a lot of money each year. In 2010, the museum started a series called "See America" with nine small shows showing different parts of the country. Since then, more people have been visiting the museum.

Management

The Cincinnati Art Museum lets everyone in for free to see its art and learn in its family center, thanks to generous donors like the Richard and Lois Rosenthal Foundation and others.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday. It is found at 953 Eden Park Drive in Eden Park.