The Indianapolis Museum of Art, located at 4000 Michigan Road Indianapolis, Indiana is one of the oldest and most prestigious art museums in America. Originally the result of a private art association developed in the later 1800s, the museum itself was not established until 1906 under the name of the John Herron Art Institute. John Herron real estate investor from Indianapolis and a great patron of the arts. Upon his death part of his will included donating the sum of $225,000 to the Art Association of Indianapolis to build a permanent art gallery and school. The institute was subsequently named in his honor. When the museum relocated to a new building in 1969 they were obliged to change the name to the Indianapolis Museum of Art as the old Art Institute came under new management and has since become a fine school for the arts.
After many additions and new construction the Indianapolis Museum of Art has reached its current size of 171,800 square feet. It possesses 56,760 works of art representing the majority of art periods in history throughout the world. The museum boasts the private collection of many prominent Indiana art lovers as well as the works of 19th century Indiana artists. A few names one might run across are Jacob Cox, Otto Stark, and George Winter. Also an inordinately high proportion of the works on display are Asian in origin. These include Asian textiles, Japanese paintings and porcelain, Chinese jade, as well as works dating all the way back to the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The museum building itself is now only one third of the whole experience. Now included are the Oldfields- Lilly House & Gardens, and the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park. These two adjacent structures take up an additional 156 acres of beautifully sculpted land. The entire Oldfields estate was donated by the family of Josiah K. Lilly Jr, the Indianapolis businessman. It’s been preserved in the exact condition it was in during the 1930s when it was last inhabited.
The Nature Park is designed to be an outdoor display showing off the beauty of nature in all its variety. It was named after Virginia B. Fairbanks, wife of the late Richard M. Fairbanks. He was a trailblazer in radio whose foundation donated a great deal of money for the park’s construction.
For those who live too far away to benefit from the enriching experiences the Indianapolis Museum of Art has to offer, they’ve developed an experimental website which will eventually show every work of art they have on display in high detail. They will also be hosting video and audio logs of all their traveling displays and guest speakers.
Watch the video
Checking out the art.
Author
Mark Traston is an associate with Portrait Painting. The company specializes in turning a picture to painting. Each portrait artist specializes in a specific area including wedding paintings, pet portraits, and executive portraits. Check out the Portrait Painting Blog for newly finished portraits, tips, and ideas.
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