History
The Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts began in 1883 to bring the arts into the life of the community. 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 architectural style in Minnesota. Art historian Bevis Hillier organized an exhibition called Art Deco at the MIA that took place from July to September 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 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.
Read more about this topic: Minneapolis Institute Of Arts
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“There is a history in all men’s lives,
Figuring the natures of the times deceased,
The which observed, a man may prophesy,
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
As yet not come to life.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Let it suffice that in the light of these two facts, namely, that the mind is One, and that nature is its correlative, history is to be read and written.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)